Landlord property care · Edinburgh
Landlord property maintenance in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a city of shared buildings. A large share of its homes are flats in tenements, colonies, conversions and 1930s four-in-a-blocks, where the roof, the stair, the gutters and often the drains belong to several owners at once. That single fact changes almost every maintenance decision made here: who authorises the work, who pays, who lets the contractor in, and how long any of it takes.
The short answer
A private landlord in Edinburgh must keep the property to the Repairing Standard, hold a valid gas safety record, have an electrical installation condition report every five years, fit interlinked smoke and heat alarms, and be registered with City of Edinburgh Council. We cover EH1, EH2, EH3, EH4, EH5, EH6, EH7, EH8, EH9, EH10, EH11, EH12, EH13, EH14, EH15, EH16, EH17 and can introduce you to independent local trades for the reactive repairs, safety checks and between-tenancy work.
Postcodes we cover
- EH1
- EH2
- EH3
- EH4
- EH5
- EH6
- EH7
- EH8
- EH9
- EH10
- EH11
- EH12
- EH13
- EH14
- EH15
- EH16
- EH17
EH28 (Ratho and Newbridge), EH29 (Kirkliston) and EH30 (South Queensferry) sit inside the city boundary too, and we cover them on the same basis.
Areas covered include New Town, Stockbridge, Leith, Morningside, Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Newington, Corstorphine, Portobello, Trinity, Murrayfield, Gorgie and Dalry, Sighthill, Liberton.
What is different about Edinburgh
- Landlord registration in Edinburgh is handled by City of Edinburgh Council, and letting an unregistered property is an offence.
- The Repairing Standard is not optional or negotiable, and since March 2024 it also requires safe kitchen and food-storage provision, safe common doors and residual current protection on the electrical installation.
- A tenant's repair report starts a clock. Where a landlord does not act, the tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) at no cost.
- Stone tenements from the 1860s to the 1900s across Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Leith, Gorgie and Newington; Georgian and Victorian townhouses and basement flats in the New Town, Stockbridge and the West End; colonies rows in Stockbridge, Abbeyhill and Slateford; interwar bungalows and villas in Corstorphine, Blackhall and Liberton; post-war and modern blocks around Sighthill, Craigmillar and the Waterfront.
Local rules and responsibilities
- The World Heritage Site and roughly fifty conservation areas cover a very large part of central Edinburgh. Like-for-like repair to a listed or conservation-area building is usually fine, but changing materials — slate to concrete tile, timber sash to uPVC, lime to cement — normally is not, and can require consent.
- Under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, where the title deeds are silent a simple majority of flat owners can instruct necessary common repairs and each owner pays an equal share. Owners can also require a share to be deposited before work starts.
- The council's Shared Repairs Service can help owners organise common repairs and, where a building is dangerous or defective, the council can serve a statutory notice and arrange work itself.
- Building warrants are needed for structural alterations, most window replacements in listed buildings and many drainage changes; a completion certificate matters later, because a buyer's solicitor will ask for it.
How to go about it
- 1Keep a single dated file per property: registration number, gas safety record, EICR, PAT records where you supply appliances, EPC and alarm installation evidence.
- 2Diary the renewal dates rather than waiting for a reminder — gas annually, EICR every five years.
- 3Acknowledge every tenant repair report in writing on the day it arrives, even when you cannot fix it that week.
- 4Use trades who will issue a certificate or a written report you can file, not a verbal all-clear.
- 5Inspect between tenancies with a camera, so the next deposit dispute is decided by evidence.
Landlord property care jobs in Edinburgh
- Meeting the Repairing Standard
- Landlord registration
- HMO maintenance and licensing
- Landlord gas safety checks
- EICR and electrical safety
- Appliance testing in a let
- Alarms in a rented property
- Fire safety in a let
- Legionella risk in a let
- EPC and energy standards
- Damp and mould in a let
- Handling tenant repair reports
- Out-of-hours emergency repairs
- The annual property inspection
- Furniture and furnishings in a let
- Water, drainage and leaks
- Locks, doors and security
- Heating upgrades in a rental
- Gardens and common areas
- The landlord compliance pack
- End of tenancy repairs and deposits
About Lothian Property
An independent starting point, not an estate agency
Lothian Property is an independent property information and introduction service. We are not an estate agency. We help homeowners understand their property, their options and their local market, and — where appropriate and only with your permission — introduce them to independent estate agents and other property professionals who can assist.
How Lothian Property worksCommon questions
- Do I need to register as a landlord in Edinburgh?
- Yes. Anyone letting residential property must register with the local authority — City of Edinburgh Council for this area — and renew every three years. Letting without registration is a criminal offence and can lead to a rent penalty notice.
- How often does an electrical safety check need doing?
- An Electrical Installation Condition Report is required at least every five years for a private let in Scotland, along with portable appliance testing for appliances the landlord provides.
- What happens if a tenant reports a repair and it is not done?
- The tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber). The Tribunal can order the work, and a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order is recorded against the property.
Other help in Edinburgh
- Property maintenance in Edinburgh
- Void property clearance in Edinburgh
- Pre-sale property preparation in Edinburgh
- Handyman and small works in Edinburgh