The City of Edinburgh Council is considering plans to create a new housing company to encourage the building of rented homes.
The idea builds on the success of the capital’s affordable housing programme, which has trebled the number of affordable homes delivered by housing associations and the Council to around 1,500 each year. Partnerships with developers to deliver around 1,000 new rented homes for working households are also under way across the city. The Council has recently highlighted three sites around Wester Hailes for the construction of affordable housing, at Dumbryden Primary, the Calders and by Holy Trinity Church and Canalview. You can find more information in the report they gave to the Community Council here.
There is high demand for quality and well managed rented housing that building new homes for rent would help accelerate house building. Other Councils in the UK like Manchester have already taken forward similar proposals.
Members of the Health, Social Care and Housing Committee on April 21 2015 will be asked to approve a bid, outlined in a report, to explore the feasibility of developing an arms length housing company to support delivering new market housing for rent. The company would develop sites for investors and funders, and act as a guaranteed buyer from developers of homes to rent. If the report to committee is agreed, the model for Edinburgh Homes would be consulted on with stakeholders.
Councillor Cammy Day, Housing Convener, said:
We’re already investing a lot of money into building high quality affordable homes across the city, and with our housing association partners, have actually built record numbers in recent years. But we are a growing city and meeting the need for new, good quality, good value homes across all tenures is a top priority for this Council.
Edinburgh is an attractive and desirable city but people wanting to live here can find themselves priced out of the market. Setting up Edinburgh Homes would provide much needed housing and also bring much needed investment into the city.
