Tuesday September 8th 2026
East Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Private tenants and home owners are being offered council support to improve living conditions with nearly a half of housing falling below ‘tolerable standards’ according to a recent study.
East Lothian Councillors today approved a new strategy to help the number of residents living in homes which have fallen into disrepair.
The new Below Tolerable Standards support will offer landlords and private owners support ranging from where to seek help to how to fund repairs and maintenance with direct intervention or enforcement a last resort.
Two thirds of all housing in East Lothian is privately owned and recent data from the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) estimated 46 per cent of it failed to meet the tolerable standard.
A report to councillors said the average number of houses falling into the unacceptable category had been just two per cent however it has increased sharply following the introduction of new legislation covering acceptable smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
The standard includes homes being structurally stable, free from damp, with satisfactory lighting, heating and ventilation.
It also requires access to hot and cold wholesome water, drainage, bathroom and cooking facilities.
In 2022 the Scottish Government made it illegal for homes not to have a smoke alarm system which is wired into the mains along with carbon monoxide detectors.
During a meeting of the council’s cabinet, members were told that just 60 per cent of private housing has the systems meaning 40 per cent were not up to standard.
The new policy will ensure landlords, home owners and private tenants are made aware of the support available to them through the local authority to tackle sub standard housing in the future.
Councillor Andy Forrest, the council’s cabinet spokesperson for housing, welcomed the new policy saying it would help private tenants and landlords in the future.
He said: “I think part of the difficulty is that they do no know where to go for help and some think they are just stuck. I think getting this information out to inform people of what they can do – not just the tenants but I think there will be a lot of landlords who think owning property is great but when problems start they get stuck with it.
“Being able to come and seek advice and be pointed in the right directions I think is going to be of a major benefit to East Lothian.”
Councillor Norman Hampshire, council leader welcomed the policy while acknowledging it was an additional workload for officers.
He said: “We don’t get any additional resource to deliver this but hopefully we can work with home owners and tenants to make sure all properties are up to the standard they are required to be.”
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