Edinburgh residents fuming after being evicted 'unlawfully' before flat re-let with increased rent

Tenants who claim they were evicted unlawfully from an Edinburgh flat are taking their landlord to tribunal.

It comes as union Living Rent claims landlords are using ‘underhand tactics’ to increase rents during the ongoing eviction ban and rent cap. Students Capucine Leclere, 21, Andrew Brooks, 22, and Aliya Abdul Kadir, 23, were served a notice to leave on March 10 this year after living in the property for more than two years.

But around a month after the landlord was due to move back into the property, it was re-listed on Rightmove – with the rent put up by forty per cent. Letting agents LittleJohns said the landlord intended to move into the property on June 12 this year, which is one of the few reasons tenants can be asked to move out during the eviction ban in place.

When using this as grounds, the landlord must move into the property and use it as their only or main home for at least three months. But the property was re-listed and leased on Rightmove in July. The landlord then moved out of the country.

Capucine, Andrew, and Aliya rented the property at £1,600 per month. It was re-listed on Rightmove at £2,250, an increase of 40 per cent. After the notice to quit, the tenants moved out of the property on April 13 to avoid looking for a flat during the busy summer months.

Due to the sudden move, they could only find a more expensive property plunging them further into debt forcing them to seek help from the university’s hardship funds. Now Andrew, Aliya, and Capucine plan to file a complaint with the First-Tier tribunal to seek compensation, after staging a protest outside the letting agents this week.

Aliya said: “Having to move out in the middle of exams and final year submissions took a toll on my mental health. I had to take an extra loan from the university’s hardship fund to support the move into a property that was more expensive, while studying and working part-time. Joining Living Rent has given us hope that things can change, and reminded us that this kind of injustice should not go unacknowledged.”

Tenant evictions and rent increases above three per cent are illegal unless a landlord is able to prove financial hardship, under current legislation extended to March 2024. In October 2022, the Scottish Parliament introduced the Cost of Living Act to protect tenants against the impacts of rising costs.

But the rent cap doesn’t apply to new tenancy agreements. Living Rent says landlords are using this to force tenants out and drive up rents. They have called for the rent cap to be tied to properties not to individual lease agreements.

Eilidh Keay, chair of Living Rent Edinburgh said: “For landlords to evict people from their homes only to hike up the rent weeks later shows the appalling behaviour that landlords are resorting to in order to protect their profits. No one can afford a rent increase, our wages have stagnated and the cost of living has soared and yet landlords are behaving like they have a right to increase rent by 40 per cent. Our housing crisis is a direct result of landlords searching for profits and as a result they are forcing tenants and students into precarious situations.

“Tenants are still in an emergency. This government needs to ensure tenants are protected after the rent cap ends and penalise landlords who break the rules. It also needs to tie rent controls to the property, not the tenancy so landlords can’t increase rents between tenancies.” The letting agent has been contacted for comment.