Leith Central Community Council has agreed an updated position on Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), following discussion at its meeting on 20 April 2026.

The update strengthens our existing position by explicitly addressing the issue of seasonal conversion of PBSA to short-term let (STL) use.

Seasonal PBSA-to-STL conversions

We are increasingly seeing PBSA developments being used as short-term visitor accommodation outside of term time.

While presented as a temporary or secondary use, in practice these arrangements can operate in a very similar way to hotels or short-term lets.

Our view is that this raises a number of concerns:

• it represents a shift away from the original “purpose-built” justification for these developments
• it contributes to the loss of residential housing in the area
• it adds to the wider concentration of visitor accommodation in Leith
• it risks creating a two-tier system, where large operators are not subject to the same licensing controls as individual short-term let hosts

As set out in the paper, this type of use also appears to be in tension with City Plan 2030 and wider housing policy objectives.

Wider context

LCCC’s broader position remains that further PBSA development in Leith should be resisted, given:

• the absence of a local university presence
• the scale of PBSA already proposed or in development
• the need to prioritise housing for long-term residents

Full paper

You can read the full updated paper here: https://leithcentralcc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/lccc-pbsa-paper.pdf

Ongoing work

This forms part of our wider work on housing, including short-term lets and other forms of visitor accommodation.

We will continue to review and update our position as policy and planning guidance evolves.