Bed and breakfasts in Edinburgh have secured emergency approval to continue housing homeless people, despite concerns over the quality and safety of the temporary accommodation they provide. 

The council told landlords it could no longer buy-up rooms in properties which hadn’t been subject to houses in multiple occupation (HMO) health and safety checks from the start of December, following legal advice.

Last-minute applications for 12 such B&Bs with a combined 250 beds prompted by the warning went before a specially convened meeting at the City Chambers on Friday, November 29—just 48 hours before the deadline to stop payments to unlicenced HMOs.

All were granted licences, however, as the risk of occupants being moved to outside the city or ending up sleeping on the streets due to a shortage of alternative accommodation hung over the committee.

One councillor said it felt like the authority had “failed to actually apply our rules”.

She said owners who had unlawfully operated HMOs for years only applied after facing the threat of losing council funding—and called it “scandalous” that they appeared to have benefited from a relaxed licensing process in response to the emergency.

Most properties fell far below the level of kitchen space usually required for a HMO licence. Other issues highlighted about the standard of housing included bedrooms being too small and a shortage of bathrooms, missing fire door strips, bedroom doors not locking, broken ventilation and extraction fans, plus a “litany” of other outstanding repairs.

Objections were also raised by neighbours about disturbances, regular police visits, and the wider impact of an “intensification” of temporary accommodation in parts of the city with a high number of B&Bs and guest houses.

Applicants said as food was provided the kitchens were “hardly used” but agreed to increase food preparation and cooking space as part of their licence conditions.

Councillors heard the biggest HMO, Almond House near Cramond, had 4 kitchens for a possible 150 occupants and was 16 cookers short of what would usually be required for 98 rooms.

A representative for one of the applicants said: “It’s not as if the residents are all necessarily working 9-5 and coming back to cook tea.”

Community councillor Teresa Perchard, who attended to object to three applications in the Leith Links area, said: “I’ve seen no evidence the property has sufficient facilities especially kitchens.

“They are not being given a decent place to live in terms of living normally to buy and cook healthy food

“This is Leith, with Michelin star restaurants; Wetherspoons has closed, people can not afford to go out and eat cheaply.”

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Jim Scanlon, community council chair, added: “The number of people living in this property is ridiculous for the facilities they’re providing.

“It’s been illegal from 2020… all that work should have been done prior to applying for an HMO licence.”

Councillor Margaret Graham said applicants were “digging their heels in”  after being asked to improve health and safety in the properties.

She suggested owners “could reduce the number of bedrooms and give people a better quality of life” and said of one application, which she voted to reject: “There would need to be a significant shift in the way the property is managed and upkept for me to have confidence.”

She said councillors had been put in a “very difficult situation”.

During a hearing for one of the Leith Links properties on Hermitage Place, for 49 occupants between 19 bedrooms, Councillor Susan Rae said: “There is so much work that needs to be done here. If you’ve got to the point there’s so much work needed every time there’s an inspection it suggests you are not keeping on top of it.”

Acting on behalf of objectors to a HMO being granted for temporary accommodation on Hampton Terrace, lawyer Mark Lazarowicz, a former council leader and MP, said a neighbouring ballet school had experienced “intruders, stronger smells of cannabis, general concerns for health and safety and protection issues” and “undue public nuisance”.

Some applicants were told to reduce the number of rooms being occupied and ensure any outstanding repairs were carried out. It’s understood the decision to grant licences for all 12 HMOs means no homeless people will need to be moved to alternative accommodation.

City councillor Katrina Faccenda, who watched proceedings from the public gallery, told The Herald following the meeting: “It’s just really disappointing we’ve got into this situation where the licensing committee is jumping through hoops to give licences to people who, some of them seem to have been operating illegally for quite a long time.

“They're making exceptions – which they can make – but quite generous exceptions so that these people can continue to operate because we’re in such a mess.

“In the end the only people who are going to benefit from it are the people who are making money out of it. Because we know that even when these places are upgraded they’re not suitable accommodation for the vulnerable people for the vulnerable people that are getting put into them.

“It feels like we’ve failed to actually apply our rules, and that could potentially be really dangerous because there are a lot of bad landlords.

“It feels slightly scandalous.”

An Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “The special meeting of the Licensing Sub-committee is conducted in accordance with the committee’s procedures and relevant legislation.

“Applications were heard in public unless it was determined that exempt information needs to be considered. Interested parties were also able to attend.

“Where it has been decided that following the standard notice period requirements would put the welfare of residents of these properties at risk, an alternative process has been adopted where neighbours have been invited to attend and make representations to the Sub Committee.

“Applications are determined in accordance with the legislation and will be determined on their individual merits.”