Freedom of Information requests obtained by the Campaign to Prosecute Landlord Fee Fraud show the Capital has issued just two rent penalty notices (RPNs) on crooked property owners compared with nearly 1200 meted out in Glasgow.

The stark enforcement gap has led campaigners to demand a harder line from the local authority, which oversees around 50,000 private rents – nearly one in five properties in the city. New antisocial behaviour powers – introduced in 2004 – have remained largely untapped in Edinburgh despite a stream of complaints against mostly unregistered landlords heaping “misery” on tenants. (full article in the Scotsman)

Some affected tenants have staged a protest at the City Chambers. Jon Black, of ­Edinburgh Private Tenants Action Group (EPTAG), said: “We believe the council needs to be much stricter.” (protest coverage at the Daily Record)

In addition, there is yet to be any criminal prosecution of the thousands of landlords who have charged illegal tenant fees.