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Scheme of assistance

General information

1.1 Summary and overview

This statement sets out how the Council can help homeowners improve the quality of private housing in Edinburgh through its Scheme of Assistance.

Through the Scheme of Assistance the Council aims to help owners through advice and information. There are a wide range of Council services to help owners to repair and maintain their homes, and to live independently. The Scheme of Assistance statement sums up these services, which includes the Edinburgh Shared Repairs Service for advice on repairing and maintaining common areas of tenements.

The Scheme of Assistance is designed to promote greater responsibility among homeowners for the repair and maintenance of their homes, encouraging owners to find resources to fund the repairs and maintenance needed. The statement sets out a range of ways the Council will help homeowners achieve this.

There are two key elements to the Scheme of Assistance:

  • Advice, information and practical support – the Council will provide a range of general advice and information on the management of home repairs, and maintenance to homeowners in the city
  • Financial assistance – the Council will make financial assistance available to people with disabilities who require adaptations to their homes, subject to agreed eligibility criteria

1.2 Background

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 gives local authorities powers to provide a wide range of advice, information, practical and financial assistance to homeowners.

Most homeowners can meet the costs of homeownership themselves and keep their homes in a reasonable state of repair. However, there are several long-term challenges facing homeowners and the Council in relation to the quality and management of housing in the private market. These include:

  • establishing better management arrangements for common repairs and maintenance in traditional tenements and mixed tenure housing
  • ensuring homes are warm, energy efficient, accessible and adaptable

1.3 Owner-occupation in Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, 60% of homes are owner-occupied, 23% are privately rented and 16% are socially rented. A total of 66% of the city’s homes are flats, meaning that a high proportion of owners live in flats with common and shared obligations for repairs and maintenance. Edinburgh also has a large proportion of tenements and older homes, with almost half the homes in the city built before 1945.

Over half of the original Council housing stock has been sold through the right to buy. Most blocks of flats built by the Council are now in shared ownership between the Council, homeowners and private landlords, referred to as mixed tenure. Homeowners and private landlords are either the sole owners or make up the majority in around one in three blocks. Investment in private homes by their owners can therefore have the most significant impact on improving the city’s housing stock.

1.4 Aims

The Scheme of Assistance supports objectives in Edinburgh’s Local Housing Strategy (LHS) 2025-30.

The LHS sets out the strategic approach to the delivery of housing and housing related services in Edinburgh, across all housing tenures. The overall strategic vision of Edinburgh’s LHS is: Everyone in Edinburgh can access and live in a home that is warm, safe, high quality, meets their needs and that they can afford. Everyone can access the right support, at the right time, to allow them to be part of a thriving community.

The LHS is underpinned by 12 strategic objectives.  The objectives most relevant to the Scheme of Assistance are:

  • homeowners are aware of the advice and support available to help manage their homes and how to access this, homeowners living in shared blocks are supported to manage the condition of the shared parts of their properties
  • ensure housing is accessible, with the right support to meet everyone’s needs
  • ensure all homes are well maintained, energy efficient, safe, sustainable and climate proofed, working towards net zero emissions
  • reduce fuel poverty and ensure every household has a warm home they can afford to heat

1.5 Principles of the Scheme of Assistance

  1. Homeowners have responsibility for ensuring their homes are properly maintained.
  2. The role of the Council should be to provide help, advice and assistance to encourage homeowners to maintain and improve their homes over time.
  3. Reacting to emergencies is more costly, so the Council wants to encourage a planned approach to maintenance among homeowners.
  4. Council services support those owners who wish to take responsibility for maintaining and improving their properties and focus on households in identified priority groups with low incomes.
  5. Council services will support homeowners participating in common repairs and improvements and encourages homeowners to set up owners’ associations to oversee management and maintenance of shared or common areas.
  6. The Council’s policy is to encourage owners to use savings or extend their mortgage or take out a commercially available loan, where it is prudent to do so to preserve their property.
  7. Owners should always seek financial advice before agreeing to any loan. The Council cannot provide any financial advice but can give details of further sources of advice.