EDINBURGH locals have raised their concerns after finding out that a property on their street is being unlawfully used to house homeless people.
Residents of Hampton Terrace in the city’s West End were notified by the City of Edinburgh Council on Friday that the building’s owner had applied for an HMO licence to legalise the process.
With a reportedly tight deadline for lodging concerns, one local hit out at the council for not adhering to the required public notice period.
However, a special meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee will be held in its place to allow people to make their points.
This comes after the council’s decision to move homeless people out of unlicensed temporary accommodation imminently was approved.
The council provided hundreds of rooms in hotels and B&Bs in response to a huge jump in demand for accommodation following the Covid pandemic.
Properties were legally required to hold an HMO (house of multiple occupancy) licence, however as of last week, around 650 people still live in unlicensed properties.
An emergency housing committee meeting previously agreed to suspend new homeless housing applications to prioritise moving people out of HMOs.
However, officials have warned that 10% of people affected could be forced to move out of the city if enough suitable spaces are not found by 30 November.
Seemingly going against the existing state of affairs, the owner of the building on Hampton Terrace, currently established as a hotel, has applied for an HMO licence.
Usually, the standard notice period to allow the public due process is 21 days, but in this case it was waived in the interest of the property’s residents.
It was decided that following procedure would put their welfare at risk, leading to an alternative policy being adopted.
Although locals were given until yesterday evening to lodge concerns, they have also been invited to attend the sub-committee meeting on Friday.
At the meeting, several HMO applications will be determined in accordance with legislation, and on their individual merits.
Any representations heard by affected parties will be considered by the committee, which will ultimately decide whether to grant the licence.
During the first Covid lockdown in 2020, around 30 landlords in breach of safety requirements failed to register for an HMO licence as required, but the council continued to pay them.
After being found to have committed a criminal offence by doing so, it intends to stop the payments by early December.
To achieve its goal of ending unlicensed HMO properties, it elected to suspend applications for social housing.
