Data gathered by Third Force News shows that there were no homes available for social rent 

The lack of social housing in Edinburgh has developed from a “problem” to a crisis, housing groups have said after it emerged there are no properties available to rent from the council or housing associations in the entire capital. 

City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has been told to break the brutal cycle of housing and homelessness as campaign groups warned the cost of renting is forcing households into poverty. 

A Freedom of Information request, submitted by TFN, lays bare the stark reality of social housing in Edinburgh. 

Figures covering January 2023 until January 2025 show the decline in availability of council and social housing across the city. 

This culminated in December 2024, when no properties were offered to any would-be social renters throughout the 31 days. 

As of 6 January 2025, there continued to be no properties available for any prospective tenants. 

CEC uses the website EdIndex to advertise properties, splitting those looking for property into two groups: starters and movers. 

Starters are those who generally do not have their own home, including homeless households, people in hostel, supported or temporary accommodation, those in the care of friends and family, new households, or private rented sector tenants.

Movers are people who do have a home but who wish to move, including council tenants (including joint tenants), those living within a home owned by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) or other social rented sector tenants, owner occupiers, or households in tied accommodation. 

Throughout December and until 6 January, neither of these groups had access to any prospective homes. 

The number of properties being advertised to current social tenants across the city has dropped significantly in the past two years. Only half of those homes advertised in the final quarter of 2024 were made available to current tenants, down from over 90% in the first quarter of 2023. 

Throughout 2023, 1,408 properties were advertised on EdIndex for rent. But in 2024, this was down by nearly a quarter (23%), to 1,092. 

Eilidh Keay, Living Rent Edinburgh chair, told TFN that despite the council declaring a housing emergency over a year ago, Edinburgh’s housing crisis is only getting worse. 

She said: “It would be laughable if it was not so serious. The shortage of council housing is having a dire impact on residents. 

“Already tenants were waiting years for a council home. But now, with no homes advertised on Edindex and the explosion of people forced to live in temporary accommodation, it is clear that the problem has become a crisis. 

“Along with a lack of council housing, private rents in Edinburgh have risen over 30% above inflation over the last fifteen years. These two issues combined ensure that anyone faced with a rent increase are forced into homelessness or out of the city they call home.

“The money raised from the Visitor Levy presents a clear opportunity to invest in the council housing the city needs. But to deliver the volume of council housing needed, Edinburgh requires more radical action beyond the levy.

“The council needs to commit to buybacks, and bring empty properties back into use and the Scottish Government needs to commit more money to funding it.

“The council must also champion the rights for private tenants. In the city where rents have skyrocketed, rent controls are badly needed to bring rents down.”

The total number of CEC properties being used as temporary accommodation has also more than doubled in the past two years. In January, 595 were being used as temporary accommodation, but by this month that had risen to 1,258. 

City of Edinburgh Council owns a total of 20,576 homes, meaning that at the time of writing, 6% of council houses were being used as temporary accommodation - up from less than 3% since January 2023.

Of that total number of council houses, a further 1,820 are currently not housing anyone or being advertised - with the council telling TFN it “has properties that are void and being repaired or upgraded to get ready”.

In December Shelter Scotland called for “immediate intervention” against the council, with the charity saying it has “lost confidence” that CEC will uphold the rule of law. It requested that Scottish ministers and the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) intervene immediately – the first time the charity has called for special measures to be taken against a local authority

Shelter said the City Council was acting unlawfully in use of unlicensed HMO accommodation to house some homeless households - something which the council denied.

The council voted in favour of suspending lifeline housing rights until March 2028, with Shelter claiming this breaches housing laws it is charged with upholding.

If the Scottish Government and SHR decide to intervene, it will be the first time that they have exercised the powers afforded to them to protect the housing rights of people experiencing homelessness

Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson told TFN that the latest figures on social housing show how people across Edinburgh are being pushed into poverty by soaring rents.

She added: “It is the devastating reality that 2,955 children are in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh. No one should be in temporary housing and urgent action is needed to provide people with a safe and secure home.

“We know without a secure and permanent home, children’s education, mental and physical health can be severely impacted, resulting in a higher risk of becoming homeless again as an adult. By providing more social homes, the brutal cycle can be broken.

“Sadly, due to the lack of social housing, those in private rented properties are also being forced into poverty by paying sky high rents which they can’t afford. This could result in them becoming at risk of becoming homelessness.

“The Scottish Government must do more to invest money into Edinburgh and other local authorities facing similar issues to help break this cycle.

“Work needs to be done at every level of government, including the council, to address the housing emergency. Local authorities can't be expected to do this on their own, they need investment from the Scottish Government.”

The council responded by pointing to “multiple” factors impacting the city’s housing market, and the Housing Emergency Action Plan which has been put in place. 

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron: “Sadly, due to multiple contributory factors, including legislative and policy changes by the Scottish and UK governments, demand for accommodation in Edinburgh continues to far outstrip supply, and our private rented housing market city remains the most expensive in Scotland.

“Since declaring the housing emergency and agreeing a Housing Emergency Action Plan, to ease the impact of pressures and reduce the number of households without settled accommodation, an inordinate amount of work by the council and the third sector has been taking place to tackle the cycle of recurring homelessness, and homelessness prevention.

“To that end the service is working to deliver an improved homeless prevention programme for residents at risk of becoming homeless. More void properties are also being brought back into use and the council is reviewing its allocation policy for council homes to make sure it continues to enable fair access to housing, including consideration of protected characteristics.

“These measures are already having an impact however the stark reality is that City of Edinburgh needs much more financial support from the Scottish Government. As convener, I am keen to work proactively, collaboratively, and collectively with everyone involved in Edinburgh’s housing sector to address and resolve systemic issues and to explore innovative solutions to provide the housing our city and citizens need and deserve.”