by Joe Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lab-Candidate-2022A9A04731.jpg\")
Cllr Ross McKenzie. Photo: \u00a9 2022, Martin P. McAdam www.martinmcadam.com<\/p>\n
The ways in which landlords are governed as not fit to be a landlord should be made public, according to a city councillor.<\/p>\n
Cllr Ross McKenzie also wants greater clarity on how the council determines what action to take on tribunal findings against Edinburgh landlords.<\/p>\n
The independent councillor for the Sighthill\/Gorgie ward has put forward a motion before next week\u2019s full council meeting calling for the information to be released publicly.<\/p>\n
Additionally, if passed, it would ask the city\u2019s regulatory committee to assess what changes are needed to strengthen the council\u2019s enforcement of the private rental sector.<\/p>\n
It comes on the back of a research report by tenant\u2019s union Living Rent, which said that the council\u2019s current enforcement of housing and tenancy law was insufficient.<\/p>\n
The union has recently shared examples of Edinburgh landlords who were brought before a housing tribunal.<\/p>\n
One landlord, fined \u00a33,300, told a tribunal that \u201cthe law cannot tell us what to do\u201d, while the tribunal said it had a \u2018poor impression\u2019 of another landlord\u2019s understanding of the law.<\/p>\n
Cllr McKenzie\u2019s motion says that it is unclear what process is followed when a decision is made against a landlord at the housing tribunal.<\/p>\n
It asks that council officers discuss how tribunal decisions are communicated to the council, and how those decisions are assessed against the \u2018fit and proper person\u2019 test.<\/p>\n
Further, it requests that the \u2018thresholds and criteria\u2019 used to determine whether enforcement actions against landlords should follow.<\/p>\n
If passed, the motion would see the information placed in either a report to the city\u2019s housing committee or an update to the city\u2019s regulatory committee.<\/p>\n
It also asks council private rental enforcement officers to investigate outstanding decisions by housing tribunals against city landlords.<\/p>\n
And, if appropriate, it asks them to make recommendations for enforcement to the city\u2019s licensing sub-committee.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that William Lennie, a city landlord with a history of letting offences, was given an \u00a38m homeless housing contract.<\/p>\n
Mr Lennie pled guilty to unregistered letting and running unlicensed HMOs in 2010, and received a fine.<\/p>\n
He also told the LDRS that he had also been charged with a range of other letting offences in the past, including housing benefit and mortgage fraud.<\/p>\n
The Living Rent report cited it as an example of the failure of the city\u2019s private rental sector enforcement, along with a number of other incidents.<\/p>\n
It also said that a freedom of information request it filed found that the council had no record of the number of landlords who had been struck from the register.<\/p>\n
Local authorities have the power to issue rent penalty notices for failure to register a property, which temporarily prevent landlords from collecting rents.<\/p>\n
And, they can refer landlords to the courts, with a maximum penalty of \u00a350,000 or up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n
Where landlords are letting out properties with three or more tenants without a House in Multiple Occupation licence, they can seek a fine of up to \u00a350,000.<\/p>\n
The report said the council had, since 2017, received 3,608 complaints of unregistered landlords, and 789 of unlicensed HMOs or HMOs in poor condition.<\/p>\n
It said that, from the complaints, the council referred two cases to the Procurator Fiscal for criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n
And 119 rent penalty notices had been issued for unregistered properties, as well as 180 rent suspension notices for unlicensed HMOs.<\/p>\n
Living Rent\u2019s report spelled out several cases where Edinburgh landlords had breached tenancy law, but still remained on the landlord register.<\/p>\n
In one case, the housing tribunal had found that the interior of one city flat was \u201cnot wind and watertight and is not reasonably fit for human habitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tribunal judges found that the landlord had failed to repair issues with the flat, despite \u2018years of complaints\u2019 from the tenant.<\/p>\n
Among the issues were extensive damage to the kitchen of the flat, and that the boiler in the property had failed on a \u2018daily basis\u2019.<\/p>\n
In another case, the tribunal found that a landlord had wrongfully evicted six people, including four children, from a property, causing them to present to the council as homeless.<\/p>\n
One of the two joint tenants had to use crutches due to a disability, and two of the children have autism.<\/p>\n
The landlord had evicted the tenants on the grounds that they intended to live in the property.<\/p>\n
But the property was re-advertised for rent at a higher price eight days after a notice to quit was issued.<\/p>\n
The next full Edinburgh Council meeting will be held on 30 October and the papers are here. <\/a><\/p>\n by Joe Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\nCllr Ross McKenzie. Photo: \u00a9 2022, Martin P. McAdam www.martinmcadam.com<\/p>\n