Buy To Let

​Edinburgh is currently a target area for student development, Buy-To-Let & Short-Term Lets (STLs) investors. 

 

'Property Investments UK' lists several areas of Edinburgh as hotspots for student property development. Except for Abbeyhill and Bonnington, all are in the south-west of the city: Dalry, Gorgie, and Haymarket are all on the list:

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"Favourite areas for student property investment are Marchmont (very sought after but hard to find property) and Abbeyhill, Balerno, Bonnington, Chesser, Currie, Dalry, Gorgie, Haymarket, Juniper Green, Fountainbridge, Polwarth and Slateford."

 

In their advice for property investors, Clan Gordon claims that Gorgie-Dalry 'has long been an area people have invested in to gain high yields for reasonable prices' and 'high demand for rental property'. Clan Gordon also claims that Leith is 'an area that investors are increasingly targeting, for reasonable prices and high yields'.

 

For example, the local communities of Gorgie-Dalry, Fountainbridge and Leith were traditionally known as areas suitable for first time buyers or for lower rent due to property prices being lower. But unfortunately, this has all changed thanks to these private PBSA, Buy-to-Let and short-term let developers and investors; who have no stake in our local communities and are targeting lower end properties to maximise their yields while pricing out first time buyers. Meanwhile renters are unable to save for deposits for their own mortgages because they are forced to pay a large share of their income to landlords' mortgages and lifestyles. It is a wealth transfer from the poor to rich and has led to a cycle of spiralling inequality.

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Homes in Sustainable Communities

Rather than these unsustainable, harmful forms of development, we want Edinburgh to an area for new liveable & affordable homes. We want to protect what we already have from shoddy landlord actions, constantly cycling new tenants through every flat in a block and preventing a true community from forming. 

 

We want to nurture sustainable communities for all.

 

Housing Policies

Here are some of our policy ideas that we believe will go a long way in addressing some of the Buy-To-Let issues.

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Buy-to-Live

We should give housing properties for sale a window of time that they are only available for 'Buy-to-Live' to give would-be homeowners a chance to get the property they want rather than be beaten by a landlord looking to expand their portfolio.

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Regulate Buy-To-Let

Ban landlords from buying New-Build properties. Enforce a period in the terms of sale with a minimum period of banning rents to prevent this and to allow community spirit to be fostered. A solution would be to increase house-building but many of these new houses would be bought by landlords. Landlords should be banned from buying new-build properties and from Buy-to-Let mortgages to address the wealth gap between them and their tenants. Buy-to-Let landlords should only be allowed to buy from much higher end priced properties to give new homebuyers a chance to become homeowners. 

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Build More Public and Social Housing 

Accelerate the building of more public and social housing, rent it out for affordable prices for public benefit. This will undercut the private rental sector and address the wealth and equality gap. Underused derelict land and brownfield sites should be developed where possible, with the developer financing any land remediation works where feasible.