Update from Temporary Accommodation Team

Paul Hepburn and Wendy Hamilton from the Temporary Accommodation Team, City of Edinburgh Council have shared some additional information and updated resources relating to some of the questions raised by advisors during the EAN Temporary Accommodation Event in September. In particular the Rent Calculator shared at the event has been updated, and all previous versions should be disregarded.

Additional Information shared by Temporary Accommodation Team

October 2026

Rent Calculator

The rent calculator previously shared has been amended following the identification of a couple of errors. The new calculator has been added to the EAN resources area, and all previous versions should be disregarded.

The updated calculator includes the following changes:

• An update relating to the lifting of the 2 child benefit cap. On the old calculator it was ‘Max 2 children’ however now there is no max. Instead of selecting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ you will need to enter the number of children within the household.

• The Earnings disregards have also been updated to reflect recent changes

The team has advised that the majority of households in Temporary Accommodation are on Universal Credit and are not affected by this update. Other households may be affected, and they are actively seeking to identify these clients, particularly those with higher salaries who will benefit most from this change.

Private Sector Landlord Properties

A communication from the City of Edinburgh Council contract team has been shared:

'The rent for a PSL property is determined by the postcode area, number of bedrooms and length of contract the landlord is on.

For the majority of clients the rent will be covered via housing benefit or universal credit and should be paid directly to C~urb who collect the rent on our behalf.

For clients who receive partial benefit payments or do not qualify for benefits they will be liable for the rent. This will be discussed with them at sign up C~urb and they will be assisted to make arrangements to pay. Income maximisations services are available to help clients meet their responsibilities.

If rent arrears do occur then C~urb will work with the tenant to resolve the situation that has caused the arrears. The landlord will still receive full payment for the property.

CEC and C~urb share responsibility for any arrears.'

A document with the details of this update, along with the updated rent calculator has been added to the EAN resources area alongside the other material from the Temporary Accommodation event. See Past Meetings and Events.