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Scotland: The City of Edinburgh Council has voted to change its licensing policy on short-term lets during its period of festivals this year in order to make it easier for visitors and performers to find accommodation as prices soar.
As a result, property owners who want to rent out their principal residence [either an entire home or spare room] to guests during peak periods with highest demand will face fewer regulatory obstacles when making an application.
Key health and safety requirements will be watered down somewhat, including potential temporary exemptions on tests and requirements relating to gas, electrical and fire safety, and bacteria such as legionella.
Councillors in Edinburgh have voted to make it less onerous and expensive for residents to let out spare rooms during the festivals in response to the soaring cost of accommodation.
Despite the temporary changes, so-called “professional” operators and B&Bs will still be subject to the same mandatory conditions laid out by Edinburgh’s licensing scheme on short-term lets.
Last summer, a 12-week consultation period was held to gauge the opinions of residents and short-term let property owners across Edinburgh on everything from secondary letting to the application process, fees and temporary exemptions. In all, 780 responses were submitted following the discussions, leading the city council to recommend a number of policy modifications.
Meanwhile, a further report is set to be considered in May which will propose extending secondary letting licence renewals from one year to three years.
An unprecedented short-term lets control zone in Edinburgh was first introduced back in October 2022, meaning that the number of listings in the city would be limited and that landlords would be required to apply for planning permission to change the use of entire residential properties to short-term letting. The measure was brought in to maintain the available supply of long-term housing for residents amidst a housing crisis and an uptick in antisocial behaviour, despite Edinburgh being one of the most popular destinations among travellers visiting the UK.
The following June, the licensing scheme proposed by the City of Edinburgh Council was deemed unlawful in a landmark ruling at the Court of Session in Scotland over matters such as the lack of provision of temporary licences and the stipulation to supply floor coverings in all short-term lets.
And in September last year, the council was also forced to reverse its policy on issuing three-month suspension notices to short-term let operators who had applied for a licence and were unable to demonstrate that they had applied for planning permission.
Regulatory convener, Councillor Neil Ross, welcomed the changes for licence fee reductions and temporary home-sharing and letting exemptions, adding that they would also provide “robust regulation of the short-term let industry”.
Concerns that Edinburgh would be unable to accommodate all of the performers and visitors planning to attend the city’s renowned festivals over the summer, including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, have been growing for some time, due to the strict implementation of short-term let regulations. Many short-term let property owners have left the market entirely due to the cost of non-refundable one-year licences at more than £5,000.
The main trade association for the self-catering industry in Scotland, the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers [ASSC], says that the changes voted for the council show that the regulations are not working sufficiently and has criticised its “part-time approach” to health and safety requirements. It has also called on the government to build more houses and address the matter of empty homes.
ASSC chief executive Fiona Campbell said: “Legislation at a national level remains unfit for purpose, especially the conflation of short-term let planning and licensing systems. We now have a situation where responsible and professional operators have spent thousands complying with licensing but are being systematically shut down through onerous planning requirements – only for the door to be opened to unregulated and potentially unsafe accommodation.
“Councillors need to ask themselves: will Edinburgh’s position as a leading visitor destination be enhanced by allowing visitors from around the world to stay potentially unsafe accommodation? Do properties suddenly become safe during the month of August but then dangerous the remaining eleven months of the year?
“Small businesses like self-catering have helped provide accommodation for Festival goers and performers for decades. Our industry wants them to succeed but we need safe, reliable and quality accommodation for that. Edinburgh Council must look at other ways of addressing this crisis and the sector stands ready to work with them to this end,” she added.
