No housing transfer means a refocus on council homes
In 2004, the Council launched its Better Homes for Edinburgh programme to transform housing in the city by transferring all 23,000 council homes to City of Edinburgh Housing Association (CEHA). But the ballot at the end of last year resulted in a narrow vote against the transfer proposals.
This means that housing transfer to CEHA will not go ahead and the substantially increased funding which would have been secured through transfer will not be available for the city.
So what does this result mean for the city?
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Currently all the options are being reviewed to achieve the needed investment to create both more and higher-quality homes in the city.
The three key areas we’re focusing on are...
Funding the ‘Scottish Housing Quality Standard’ work:
Council homes must reach a standard the Government calls the ‘Scottish Housing Quality Standard’ (SQHS) by 2015.
This includes such things as planned work to electrical wiring and heating, replacing single glazing with double glazing and modernising kitchens and bathrooms where this work hasn’t previously been carried out.
This work will be funded by a rise in rents of 3 per cent above the rate of inflation this year and similar rises are likely over the next five years. This year’s rent increase means tenants will pay an average of £2.79 extra per week.
Funding for regeneration areas:
About 4,000 of the worst Council homes in the city in Pennywell, Royston Wardieburn, North Sighthill, Leith Fort and Gracemount were due to be demolished and replaced.
The ballot result means there’s no money currently available to put these plans into action. Discussions with the Scottish Executive are underway about the best way to fund this, including the option of smaller-scale housing transfers in these areas.
This is not the best option for the city as a whole, but is maybe one way of achieving the regeneration these areas so desperately need.
Funding for new homes:
There’s a real shortage of affordable homes in Edinburgh. A new study into housing need in the Lothians has found that in Edinburgh we need 12,000 new affordable homes over the next ten years to meet demand.
The vote against transfer means we will only be able to build a fraction of the homes needed.
Talks are underway with the Scottish Executive to solve the funding issue.
We’ll keep you up-to-date with our progress in future issues of Outlook.