Rent money stolen from uni housing co-op during ‘Friday jamming session’

The Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative has had a safe containing thousands of pounds stolen from their offices.

The safe, which was in  Wright’s Houses near the Meadows, was used to hold rent payments from Edinburgh uni tenants.

Staff at the Co-op last remember seeing the safe on August 25th, but it was not discovered missing until last weeks Friday jamming session in the basement of the building .

Police believe that the theft may have been of a four-figure sum of cash.

The Bruntsfield complex, which is the largest student housing cooperative in the United Kingdom, houses 106 students in affordable accommodation.

The students own and run the property, meaning the theft will be especially distressing to the residents.

In an email, seen by The Student, founder Mike Shaw told residents that the safe had been discovered missing “on Friday evening, during the jamming session in the basement.”

“The office door was propped open at the time, though it is quite possible that this was not when the safe was taken,” the email reads.

Speaking to The Student, a resident of the co-operative confirmed the theft and said:

“We are not a private for-profit business – we are a co-operative built on self-help and mutual aid. In effect the thief was stealing directly from ourselves as students.”

The co-operative have notified their insurance company and are calling upon visitors and Police Scotland to look into it further.

A Police Scotland spokesperson, in a public statement, said:

“Inquiries to trace those responsible are ongoing and anyone with information that can assist officers with their investigation is asked to come forward.”