In Edinburgh – where the council has introduced a short-term lets control zone – only 32 out of 86 applications for a short term lets license have been granted.
And in reply to the Scottish Conservatives Freedom of Information request the party says that only one in five short-term lets has been approved by councils in Scotland. The party criticises the SNP’s licensing scheme as “flawed”.
The FOI made by the party to the 32 Scottish local authorities revealed that more than 3,000 short-term let applications had been made as at March this year. But, only 664 of these were approved, representing 21 per cent of applications made in the six-month period.
The SNP’s licensing scheme was passed by SNP-Green MSPs in January 2022 and the Scottish Conservatives say that this was in spite of overwhelming opposition from the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASCC), Scottish Land and Estates and opposition MSPs.
The legislation meant that councils had to implement a licensing scheme by 1 October 2022, while existing hosts will need to apply for a licence by 1 October 2023. A six-month extension on the latter was granted by SNP ministers following pressure from the industry and the Scottish Conservatives.
Under the SNP’s scheme all short-term lets will have to be fully licensed by 1 July 2024.
Upon the passing of the short-term lets order in January, Fiona Campbell from ASSC said it remained “unfit for purpose, lacks an evidence base and was more often than not based on groundless fears”.
Scottish Land and Estates also warned of the impact of the “urban-focused” licensing scheme on rural Scotland, highlighting that “excessive bureaucracy and spiralling costs” could lead to many businesses closing.
Scottish Conservative MSP Miles Briggs said: “The fact that so few short-term let applications have been made to Edinburgh Council just goes to demonstrate how poorly executed this policy has been on top of the six-month extension Ministers have been forced to implement.
“With an estimated 1,800 short term lets in the capital, many hosts will have just decided it’s too much of a hassle.
“What is equally concerning is the small number of applications granted by Edinburgh Council, showing a lack of resources for processing them.
“This is yet another example of poorly thought through SNP- Green Party policy with unintended consequences.”
EDINBURGH
In Edinburgh the council agreed updated planning guidance for short term let operators in April. In the report considered by the Planning Committee, some of the reasons for the STL legislation in the face of a growing holiday letting presence were narrated: “This has resulted in a loss of residential and societal cohesion, particularly within areas such as the Old Town and locations on the periphery of the city centre.
“The change of residential units to STL has created issues for residents and the Council. In respect of STL use, the Council received an increasing number of complaints between 2016 – 2019 (pre-Covid), and the number of complaints being received since lockdown measures ended has been on the increase. Members of the public are concerned at the loss of amenity and security for long term residents.”
Cllr James Dalgleish Planning Convener said then: “Around a third of all short term lets in the country are here in Edinburgh which is why we have a control area in place in the capital. It is our goal to implement fair and robust Short Term Let Guidance, to make sure we have a sustainable approach going forward to balance the needs of our city, businesses and our residents.
“It’s important that those operating short term let accommodation can only do so if they have planning permission where this is needed. This means If you rent out a property you own for short term lets and don’t live in it you need to apply for planning permission to change the use of the property from residential to a short term let.
“Going forward the guidance will make it clear how decisions will be made for all involved.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
