From 3 October 2026, the City of Edinburgh Council will resume Choice Based Lettings for social housing.
The decision to cease the temporary suspension of standard allocation policy is largely due to the success in substantially reducing the backlog of Council void properties.
Alongside this, the broader Housing and Homelessness Investment Programme has ensured the supply of suitable temporary accommodation continues to increase, rendering the temporary suspension no longer necessary.
The suspension initially came into force in April 2025, as an emergency measure to allow the council to prioritise individuals facing homelessness and focus on housing families in temporary accommodation. It was then extended in August 2025, and again in February 2026.
It is now set to come to an end with council homes being advertised on Key to Choice from Saturday 4 October 2026.
During the suspension, there was significant success in increasing the supply of suitable temporary accommodation, and since it was introduced, 1,224 homeless households have been supported through temporary accommodation or direct lets — with around 30 per cent securing a settled home through a direct let.
The end of this emergency measure marks significant/notable progress in efforts to tackle the housing emergency in Edinburgh since the measure was put into place 16 months ago.
The supply of suitable temporary accommodation is set to continue growing. The council is forecast to provide 1,641 further suitable homes by March 2027 through a combination of “off-the-shelf acquisitions, buybacks, commissioned temporary accommodation and new supply.”
“Edinburgh Council building – geograph.org.uk – 1315978” by kim traynor is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
