Living Rents Campaign Against Rogue Landlords.

LIVING RENT EDINBURGH

In just two weeks, the City of Edinburgh Council will vote on their annual budget. This is our chance to ensure that they properly fund enforcement against rogue landlords in our communities, and protect private tenants.

We need your help for this to happen by reporting your rogue landord experiences to the council.

So far, we have collected and presented real stories from tenants, delivered a dossier on rogue landlord activity, and provided evidence on the disgraceful lack of enforcement.

The Council has admitted that they struck off or refused registration to just three landlords in 2025, in a city of 45,000 landlords. Tenants’ complaints are being ignored or fobbed off, and landlords are continuing to get away with outrageous, often illegal behaviour.

Despite this, laughably, Council leaders claim that resourcing isn’t an issue! They say they aren’t aware of cases of rogue landlords in our city, and that there’s no evidence that the Council’s enforcement team needs to be bigger and stronger. Maybe the reason they aren’t aware of problems is because the Council makes it about as hard as possible for tenants to even get in touch with the enforcement team.

That’s where we come in.

We have built the kind of Tenant Complaints Portal that the Council should have on their website. We know thousands of you have horror stories of rogue landlords and slum-like flats. With just two weeks to go, it is vital that tenants report their problems to the Council. Let’s make sure there is no doubt about how widespread and serious the problem is – and prove to them that they must increase funding for enforcement against these rogue landlords.

If you have had a current or past experience of disrepair, attempts to retain your deposit, struggles with your landlord, or had a landlord who was not registered, report it to the Council now:

This tool will help you submit a complaint to the right department, citing the relevant legislation so they can’t fob you off, and copy in councillors. The more people we hear from, the harder it is for the council to continue to ignore.

Don’t rent privately? Act in solidarity with tenants across the city by emailing your councillors. 

We aren’t done here yet, we still have plenty more to organise around. Join us at your next branch meetings: Lochend Tuesday 3rd & Leith, Newington and Gorgie Thursday 5th of March.

If you’re facing an issue right now, come to our member defence meetings. These are twice a month on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

In Solidarity,
Niall & Eleanor
Campaign Co-Officers, Leith

Living Rent Edinburgh
https://www.livingrent.org/