Will Edinburgh adopt Sadiq Khan's "affordable" student housing plan?
Plus: Cycling surge in the Capital; teenager knocked down by tram; and Leith gears up for food fest
City may copy London rules capping rents within new student halls
The city council is considering copying London’s “affordable” student housing rules which place a rent cap on up to half of rooms in new developments.
With typical student rents starting at anywhere between £700 and £1000 a month (and rising to £1,400 and higher), campaigners have been calling for action to stop students being priced out of living in the Capital.
London mayor Sadiq Khan introduced rules in 2021 forcing developers to make between 35% and 50% of rooms in new student halls, or Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), available for “affordable” rents. The higher rate applies to developments on public and industrial land.
Edinburgh already has similar rules for general housing, which have been the subject of fierce debate, but now city officials are exploring the practicalities of extending the same principles to new-build student accommodation.
Wait, what? A room in student halls costs £8k a year? Yes. And some. The average price of a room in private halls in the Capital is now around £1,200, or £12,000 over the course of a 44-week academic year. That figures has been pushed up in part by some high-end developments charging an eye-watering £2,000-plus a month.
Yikes! Indeed. Increases in entry-level rents and a general shortage of accommodation have seen a growing numbers of students declared homeless in Edinburgh. One recent study suggested one in six started the student year without somewhere to live. That has seen a rise in ‘commuting’ into the city from more affordable towns including Falkirk.
What difference would the London rules make? Rent in the student accommodation classed as “affordable” in London is now capped at just over £7,500 a year. A similar calculation is likely to lead to a slightly lower cap on those new properties which could be affected in Edinburgh.
‘Affordability’ versus ‘viability’: In London, planning permission has been granted for around 3,100 “affordable” beds in the policy’s first two years, according to research by CBRE UK and QX Global. However, the study warned the rules may be discouraging more developers from bringing forward more PBSA plans, with London achieving only about 80% of its target to build around 3,500 new student accommodation beds a year.
That mirrors the ongoing debate in Edinburgh about affordable housebuilding in general, with Labour councillor Lezley Marion Cameron leading calls to cut the 35% affordable housing quota on new developments, in an effort to kickstart more building.
Double top? A London-style quota would put student accommodation on a level paying field with private housebuilding, with both having one of the highest quotas in the UK outside of London, alongside Bristol and Cambridge. That could free up more sites for general housebuilding, but with the risk of slowing down development across the board.
What happens next? Councillors were told work on developing a potential Edinburgh version of the London rules were well advanced after the idea was raised by SNP councillor Danny Aston at last week’s full council meeting. An update on that work is due to be presented to councillors on 3 June. The council has also agreed to urge the Scottish Government to start levying business rates on student accommodation and look at ways of supporting student housing co-operatives.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
BIKE BOOM: Edinburgh’s e-bikes have been hired more than half a million times and are helping contribute to rising levels of cycling in the Capital. The hire bikes have been booked a total of 590,000 times since launching last September. Cycle group Spokes said that was one of the reasons bikes accounted for nearly one in three vehicles heading into the city centre on Forrest Road during one of its counts in May.
‘DOORING’ PAYOUT: A cyclist has been awarded compensation after suffering serious face and head injuries in a so-called dooring accident in the city centre. The cyclist couldn’t avoid running into the door of a van after the driver opened it in his path in Abercrombie Place, in the West End. Motorists have a duty to check for bikes and other oncoming traffic before opening their doors.
TRAM INJURY: A teenager has been seriously injured after being hit by a tram on Leith Walk. Police are investigating the cause of the accident which took place between the Albert Street and Pilrig Street junctions shortly before 9am on Sunday.
BAFTA BOXED: Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell has told how she keeps the Golden Globe and Bafta she won for the film adaptation of her best-selling novel still wrapped up in a box on a shelf in her Edinburgh home. “I just find it a little bit too flashy to have them out,” she told the BBC, before admitting the Golden Globe was so heavy she nearly dropped it on Steven Spielberg’s foot when she was handed it on stage. O’Farrell’s new novel Land was inspired by her great-great-grandfather, who she discovered made Ordnance Survey maps for the British towards the end of the Great Famine in Ireland.
HEARTS ACHE: Following the heartbreak of losing out on the title to Celtic in such dramatic fashion, Hearts now face losing their talismanic striker and captain Lawrence Shankland for next season. He has agreed to sign for Rangers, subject to a medical in the coming days. In the meantime, the Scottish Football Association has announced an investigation into the ugly pitch invasion which marred the title decider at Celtic Park.
CHEAPER FOR CHILDREN? Children’s tickets to Fringe shows and Edinburgh Zoo are among those set to benefit from the temporary VAT cut from 20% to 5% from 25 June to 1 September. The Chancellor hopes the temporary summer reduction, which also applies to children’s meals out, will see prices dropped for customers.
‘SPOONS OUT: Wetherspoons has pulled out of plans to takeover the large, empty McCowans Brewhouse site at Fountain Park for “commercial reasons”. It’s still tough out there for many hospitality businesses who have faced consistently rising costs since Covid.
BOG STANDARD: Morrisons are introducing sanitary bins in male toilets in all its stores in support of the Bog Standard campaign launched by the charity Prostate Cancer UK.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
HOME WORK: Capital based S1 Developments has broken ground on a new residential development in the West of Edinburgh. This phase of New Village comprises 146 private studio, 1,2 and 3 bedroomed homes, but when complete the development will deliver 397 new homes, with a further 160 affordable units being delivered in tandem by social enterprise Places for People. It will form part of real estate investment group Parabola’s wider multi-million-pound regeneration of Edinburgh Park, creating a new urban neighbourhood alongside commercial and leisure space.
TATTOO DEAL: Aberdeen Investments has announced a new sponsorship of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The company said the sponsorship of “one of Scotland’s most iconic and globally respected cultural institutions” reinforced its commitment to supporting Scottish culture and community.
TRAIL BLAZERS: Edinburgh based AI company Zelim has been named Scotland’s Tech Innovator 2026 winner, as part of KPMG’s bid to crown the UK’s most exciting tech businesses. The company, which builds AI-enabled maritime safety and security systems to save lives when people fall overboard at sea, will now progress to the national UK Tech Innovator final in London in June after coming out on top following a successful pitch alongside the best tech offerings in the region.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
GRUB’S UP: Music, street food, bars and artisan makers are all on the menu - along with a line-up of the port’s top chefs (pictured above) - at the Leith Food Festival on Leith Links on Saturday and Sunday.
ART TRAIL: After the success of its debut last year, the Forth Bridges Creative Trail returns to South Queensferry, Dalmeny and Bo’ness on Saturday and Sunday. This year’s trail features over 35 local artists and makers exhibiting across 11 venues, showcasing work ranging from fine art and ceramics to jewellery, woodwork and a wide variety of contemporary crafts.
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL: Enjoy some of the world’s best theatre and dance for children at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival from Saturday until 7 June.
QUICK BITES
CUP OF TEA: The former bingo hall and cinema at 50 Nicolson Street in Edinburgh’s Southside could turned into a daytime cafe and community events space under newly submitted plans by Public Edinburgh Ltd, reports the Edinburgh News.
TOKYO TREATS: Asian-fusion restaurant Uncle Tiger on Bristo Place has launched the second in a series of pop-up menus inspired by the street food culture of Japan. Its “Golden Gai Time” menu of small, drink-led dishes will run until the end of June.