Members of Living Rent Lochend presented its demands to councillors at the Edinburgh City Chambers yesterday during a meeting of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee.

The union argues that the city is in desperate need of truly affordable housing and that these empty council properties would be perfect to house many of the 23,247 applicants in Edinburgh currently awaiting allocation to permanent social housing.

As of May 2023, almost a third (7,498) of applicants awaiting allocation to permanent social housing in the city were households with children or young people under the age of 18. There are 4,765 people currently in temporary accommodation waiting to be allocated a permanent home and the average wait time for a property in Edinburgh is over three years.

The campaign is being led by the Lochend branch of Living Rent, where nearly half of the empty homes are located. North East Edinburgh has 638 empty council homes, twice the number of any other area in the city. Most of these properties have been empty for more than a year. Lochend residents have reported that some properties have been left empty for many years, and in some cases left to fall into disrepair with an impact on surrounding homes.

The campaign comes amid the ongoing housing crisis in Scotland. As of July 2023, it was reported that there were 243,603 applicants on the waiting list for social housing while annual allocations were just 26,102.

The effects of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis will have exacerbated the demand. While the supply of affordable housing in Scotland is reported to have fallen by 20% in the last three years, homelessness in Edinburgh increased by 29% between 2021 and 2022.

According to Livign Rent, the council stated that the reason for the majority of properties in the city being empty is due to their need for repairs. In North East Edinburgh 434 of 638 homes were empty because they required repairs before they could be allocated, the union said.

For Lochend resident Jack, waiting for suitable accommodation after an incident that left him and his partner unsafe in their home has had a serious impact on his mental health.

He said: “We were granted exceptional circumstances and told that we would have safe and stable accommodation within two weeks. A move that should have only taken two weeks would become eight months of complete darkness, fear and misery as we became prisoners in our own home. I was terrified to leave the house, or leave my girlfriend in the house on her own.

“Having been through a period of homelessness two and a half years before, the feeling of being back on my feet again was ripped from under me. Soon after would follow the nightmares, alcohol misuse, paranoia, depression and little self belief, the crippling PTSD from what had occurred and to be told there were no homes available to us? Life was no longer worth living.

“But I wasn’t giving up just yet. I would not rest until I knew that we were in a safe home. I made phone calls, emails, letters, statements, voicemails. And the council just didn’t care.

“Eventually someone did listen, not a housing officer or social worker but a manager working in council repairs, who had us moved within two weeks of contacting us and finally my job was done. The person who listened was shocked at our story and how neglectful the council had been towards us. What shocked me the most was finding out that the home we now reside in had been empty for two and a half years when we were told that there were no homes available.”

Laura Jackman, co-chair for Living Rent Lochend branch, said: “It is completely unacceptable that so many homes in Edinburgh are left empty while waiting lists for social housing are years long and demand for affordable housing is increasing. Residents are spending years living in temporary accommodation which is often unsuitable for their needs, with a lack of clarity about how long they can expect to wait for a permanent home.

“This can have serious impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of those stuck on waiting lists. Such a high number of empty properties in Lochend has an effect on the community, especially when these are left neglected for many years. We need more social housing, which means more homes must be built, but right now the council can fill the properties they already have and house some of those waiting. Turning vacant properties into quality homes should be a top priority.”