A TENANTS’ union in Scotland has called on politicians to intervene in an “unjust” retrofit scheme at a public meeting.
Living Rent arranged a public meeting last night to address councillors, ministers, and cabinet secretaries regarding the financial and emotional stress caused by the City of Edinburgh Council’s mixed tenure improvement scheme (MTIS).
Some councillors were present at the meeting, but no one from the Scottish Government was in attendance.
Members of Living Rent Lochend, one of the local branches of the tenants’ union, came together to call for the scheme to be changed to reduce costs and make communication clearer.
This included council tenants, private tenants, and homeowners.
One member, Mel Esquerre, raised concerns about the pilot scheme being rolled out in other communities in the same manner.
The member spoke of “friends and neighbours who have been evicted” as a result of the scheme, due to the high cost of the retrofitting, with some having received bills upwards of £40,000.
Mel made the point that residents at the meeting represent only a “tiny, tiny sample” of people’s experiences.
Going on, the member said: “It’s not okay, it’s not normal, and it’s certainly not a just transition.”
At the event, the group also launched a report they put together for the Just Transition Commission, which highlights the need for lessons to be learnt from the rollout of the retrofit scheme.
The main issue that members shared was in relation to communication from the council.
Residents have not been receiving the correct information, the letters have been confusing, and many have only been given a cost estimate, but no confirmation.
It is understood that discussions have taken place about communication issues and the letters have now improved.
Residents also described not being treated as equal partners in the scheme, with some raising examples of not being able to see the results of surveys conducted in their homes, despite having funded the survey.
During the meeting, Councillor Ben Parker, a member of the housing, homelessness and fair work committee also raised his concerns of misinformation “at the most basic level”.
He expressed the fact that the reports that councillors are receiving at meetings are not reflecting experiences of residents on the ground.
Laura Dalgetty, Living Rent Lochend campaigns officer said: “We have campaigned tirelessly to make this building scheme a fair deal for our community: homeowners, council and private tenants alike.
“We invited MSPs and councillors to hear how this work is affecting our lives and what we think could be done to make this a positive experience for other communities.
“Their absence tonight is deeply felt.
“For retrofits to work and actually involve the community, our politicians would do well to start by taking our experience and expertise seriously.”
At the meeting, Aythan Lewes, chartered building surveyor and director at social enterprise Eala Impacts, raised that the owners of properties are “not being treated like the client and funder” which they are, describing it as “very much a kind of hierarchical approach.”
Going forward, Aythan highlighted the importance of continued maintenance.
He discussed: “[There is a] history of lack of maintenance of these buildings, which has led to these issues, but there’s no discussion about what legacy of good maintenance is going to be left following this.
“Even if they’re all shiny and new on day one, when they get handed over, and even if they make it through the first year, if they’re not maintained the energy efficiency will fall away.
“If they’re not leaving a legacy of good maintenance, this won’t last a decade.”
Speaking today, Councillor Mandy Watt, Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee said: “I was very pleased to have been invited to attend Living Rent’s meeting about MTIS in Lochend.
“We heard directly from residents about the problems and challenges they’ve faced and Living Rent has written a report about MTIS projects.
“They’ve promised to send me a copy.
“I’m looking forward to reading it and I’ll be considering how best to follow up on their recommendations.”
Housing, homelessness and fair work convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, Lezley Marion Cameron, said: “Bringing all our housing stock up to a good condition, making homes energy efficient, warm, and affordable to heat is very important, both for tenants and for owners in these blocks.
“The reality is that homes which are not repaired and maintained will be at risk of further deterioration and will cost more to fix in the future.
“We engage with owners and tenants from the earliest opportunity to discuss options and costs and continue to offer support throughout the scheme.
“Private owners are responsible for paying for their share of repairs, but I appreciate how challenging this is so we’ve secured significant funding from Scottish Government which will help people with some of the financial strain.”
The council advised that no owners have been billed yet because works are still underway.
The council also added that it is following the legal framework within the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 to provide the legal authority to carry out works to the common parts of the block.
The MTIS was proposed in 2018 and aimed to address poorly insulated and maintained housing in Lochend within mixed-tenure buildings.
However, due to joint ownership of buildings affected by the scheme between council properties and private flats, homeowners have faced high bills for the work to be done.
