The Scottish Government has increased the ‘voids and acquisition’ fund available to the council.
This will double in its second year, and means that the City of Edinburgh will receive £28.6million which is an additional £13.8m compared to 2024/25.
The increase brings the total Scottish Government funding for affordable housing supply in Edinburgh to £73.7 million in 2025/26.
The funding is targeted at councils with the highest sustained pressures on temporary accommodation and is focused on the acquisition of existing properties, in particular family-sized homes. Edinburgh council has declared a housing emergency.
Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, is glad of the increase in monies to deal with the issue. She said: “I warmly welcome this award of £73.7 million for Edinburgh from the Scottish Government and believe this funding recognises the pressures in Edinburgh in terms of acute housing demand and increased dependence and spend on temporary accommodation.
“Sadly, far too many families in Edinburgh continue to struggle to find affordable places to live and are living in temporary accommodation. This is why we are prioritising acquiring much-needed larger, family-sized homes for residents across the city, helping to reduce further the number of children living in unsuitable accommodation. This funding will go towards that.
“We’re also now fast approaching the two-year anniversary of declaring a housing emergency in Edinburgh, and whilst we are making every effort to deliver more new homes, housing supply simply isn’t meeting Edinburgh’s level of housing demand. Much more needs to be done, and much more money needs to come to Edinburgh.”
The city has a housing emergency action plan published in March 2024 under the former Housing Convener, Jane Meagher who now leads the council. The priorities include simplifying the access to housing, providing quality housing and using data to develop a targeted response as one way of responding to the emergency.
The council also aims to reduce the number of empty homes in the city with targeted action to bring them back into use.
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Craigmillar town Centre Housing
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
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