Local Government and Communities Committee

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2021

The Town and Country Planning (Short-term Let Control Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2021

Submission by Paul Banks

I wish to object to the fact that B&B’s are now being included in this draft. Traditional bed and breakfast businesses are under threat and as a trade could disappear completely because of this legislation. It’s beyond belief that the Scottish government would not include these business in an exclusion.

Submission by Nanette Cowieson

I write to you with my concerns regarding the Short Term Lets Legislation and the impact on B&Bs and Self-Catering.

We are in the business of providing high quality hosting to visitors from the UK and globally.

We oppose the proposed scheme to license Short-term lets as it will have a huge negative impact on a struggling tourist industry trying to recover from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. We are a small micro-business, and the introduction of an onerous licensing system would add additional legislative and administrative burdens.

Scotland is a world renown tourist destination, and the Scottish Government national tourism strategy says that ‘it aims to make Scotland a first-choice destination for a high quality, value for money and memorable customer experience delivered by skilled and passionate people’. This proposal does not promote tourism or protect the long-term sustainability of local communities, both those directly involved in visitor accommodation and those satellite businesses that provide services to tourists. This could lead to a number of businesses leaving the hospitality sector for good thereby reducing the availability of options to tourists and diminishing the overall Scottish offering.

There is no doubt that there is a need for some type of registration system in the short-term letting landscape however a full-blown licensing system is inappropriate. No distinction of the various types of operators have been factored in.

Three questions were posed to help the Committee come to an informed view.

1.Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

No, they do not. The proposed changes seem to have been hurriedly and rapidly pulled together without adequate thought and consultation. There is no denying that there is a problem with some letting platforms, like Airbnb for instance, but going forward a workable and more appropriate solution must be found.

The hospitality sector has been particularly hard hit by the Covid 19 pandemic, and it is important that those of us in the industry have an opportunity to recover. Aside from a loss of income due to lockdown closures, the industry has had to introduce new safe protocols of working. To introduce a licensing system at this time provides additional burdens on both operators, as well as local councils that need to set-up, establish and administer a licensing system.

This seems to be a VERY over-complicated and onerous ‘solution’ to a problem that is localised in parts of Scotland. The legislation is an overreaction and a disproportional response to a problem created and caused by amateur online platform operators.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

No, it has not. Traditional B&Bs have been included and there are already a number of mechanisms in place to regulate us. We already have to comply with health & safety, fire regulations, food and hygiene standards, financial compliance and a proper tax regime. Many are already professionally accredited, inspected and assessed by professional bodies like Visit Scotland and the AA.

This legislation seems to have been an unfortunate consequence of a rushed consultation process which fails to properly assess the impact that these regulations will have on professional bona fide businesses in the hospitality sector.

Not enough thought has gone into defining the wide range of various types of operators in the short-term letting environment. A wide and diverse group of providers have all been placed under the umbrella of short-term letting with a one size fits all solution.

We believe that the issue that is trying to be addressed has not been properly defined and therefore the ‘solution’ is not solving the problems that have arisen through platforms like Airbnb and amateur providers operating in the tourism sector.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

We believe that local authorities will not have adequate resources or time to implement this proposed scheme. Creating and establishing a robust and workable licensing scheme requires considerable time and careful planning and this legislation has been rushed and not thoroughly thought out. Councils have had their own challenges because of Covid and need time to get their normal day to day business back on track.

Summary

We ask that the Committee overrule the legislation and reject it as it is not fit for purpose. In attempting to regulate the challenges created by amateur users, particularly those using platforms like Airbnb, this legislation inadvertently is introducing new problems to an already beleaguered industry hit by Covid 19. The ‘solution’ is not addressing the raison d’etre behind this legislation and penalises genuine and professionally accredited businesses. There are already mechanisms in place for B&Bs to comply with taxation, health and safety and they are not affecting the availability of residential housing.

There have been other types of legislation which has been postponed or dropped during this pandemic. This has been hastily put together without a proper consultation period and the focus for the Scottish government and local councils should be the recovery of the economy post-Covid.

We hope that the Committee rejects this legislation and that a more robust strategy to aid the development of tourism is developed. The key to solving the problems within the short-term letting arena is having the RIGHT policies and regulations in place and this is not the right solution.

Submission by Michael Brander

I do not believe the proposed changes struck the correct balance between protecting the long term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies. To the contrary, I believe they will have a seriously damaging effect on the short term tenancy sector in rural Scotland. I understand they are an attempt to address a problem that, in practice, appears to be largely confined to the specialist Edinburgh market. The issue could surely be dealt with in a more focused and appropriate manner by means of more targeted and localised legislation.

My only issue with the definition of short term lets is that this may cause problems in some rural situations where specialised or short term workers are required for particular purposes, often over more than one holding. I leave it to others more experienced than I to comment in detail.

I have no expertise on the resources of local authorities but, in my recent contacts with local authority employees, more than one has commented on how their workload has grown in line with new legislation but without additional resources. They have expressed doubts about their ability to continue to address the necessary attention to their core functions.

I run the Whittingehame Estate, a small mixed estate in East Lothian. When I arrived 17 years ago, the Estate was dominated by its agricultural interests with an in hand farming operation and three let farms. The housing stock consisted of some 35 cottages and small houses. Two of these were up to reasonably modern standard. The remainder varied from derelict to habitable but barely meeting standards, to derelict. The quality of the housing stock was reflected in the occupancy profile, ranging from occasional vacation use, through elderly long term residents, to DHSS tenants.

In my time here, as part of a radical revitalisation of the Estate, we have transformed the housing stock. We have used the sale of peripheral properties to renovate eighteen core properties, now occupied almost entirely by individuals and families working locally. Most of these are heated on a community biomass system that also provides local employment. In the process the the age profile of the Estate has been sharply reduced with a number of young families and children, where there were none such previously.

As part of the renovation programme, and in the interests of diversifying income and providing additional employment, we established one holiday property. This has proved popular with tenants and other local residents who have frequently used it to handle overflow from visiting guests. It also provides a small level of additional income for part time staff. However, while there has been a reasonable level of occupancy at the holiday property, the net income, after allowing for expenses, has not matched what could have been achieved under a conventional Model Tenancy Agreement.

As a former solicitor I have looked over the proposed new legislation on short term lets in dome detail. I am at a loss to understand the need for legislation of this nature to address the specific problem identified. I am in touch with many other short term landlords and I am not aware of any who are “exploiting” their position in a manner that would require legislative intervention of the type proposed, with its associated additional costs and work. For many, like me, alternative arrangements for the property are readily available. Even now, these could yield better with less work. If this proposed legislation goes through I, along, I suspect, with many others, will have to re-consider the use of the property. This will have potentially negative effects not only on the local tourism industry but on the availability of accommodation for visitors to local residents.

As a final point, it seems particularly perverse to be introducing such legislation at a time when the providers of such short term lets have seen their income massively reduced as a consequence of the Covid epidemic. For any who may have been considering their future letting plans as a result of Covid, this proposed legislation is likely to prove the last straw. The result in rural communities will be a significant reduction in the availability of conveniently local short term letting accommodation.

Submission by Melanie Watt

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

There appears to be no sustainability study or cost-benefit analysis to determine the impact of this proposed legislation on small self-catering businesses in fragile communities, such as Glenelg, where we live. Has every community council in the Highlands been informed and consulted on this proposal? Does the government appreciate how much revenue has been lost due to the pandemic? It seems totally insensitive to impose this legislation at such a time. Our small business – an old coach house, attached to our home – has been welcoming visitors for nearly 30 years. Some have been coming for that long and we are not unique. The multiplier effects of our business alone put money into the local economy in Glenelg: the pub, cafes, brewery - to name just a few examples - and our visitors spend further afield in Balmacara, Kyle, Plockton and Skye. There are many self-catering lets in Glenelg, but they provide employment for local people and are an important part of the local economy. Draconian measures, such as those proposed are likely result in a reduction in holiday lets, such as ours, as the level of control and bureaucracy is oppressive and likely to take all the joy out of Scottish hospitality. It will likely kill off the other small businesses in places such as Glenelg. If a proper C/N analysis has not been done, it is unsupportable to continue with this proposed legislation. It is not coherent with other policies/legislation such as Community Empowerment and local place planning.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

The legislation appears hastily and badly drafted. It is overly complex and is not fit for purpose in terms of the many micro businesses such as ours, who operate single self-catering accommodation cottages and who are already complying with existing legislation. Moreover, there does not appear to have been any consultation regarding the inclusion of Bed & Breakfast accommodation in this legislation, which surely renders it incompetent? There is no stated purpose in the legislation. What is its intended aim?

The existing legislation works perfectly well for those of us who run small businesses to supplement our income and mirrors the General Binding Rules regime, used by SEPA, which require a simple registration procedure. SEPA’s system targets potential polluters according to risk, realising that a one-size fits all approach is inappropriate and counter-productive. The silliest thing of all is the curfew on arrival times and the idea that a monitor might arrive in the middle of someone’s holiday and inspect the property. If people want to dally on their way up here (spending money en route) that is fine by us. The journey is often part of the holiday. They come here to relax and get away from work and an invasion of their privacy is unacceptable.

This new legislation is a layer of unneeded bureaucracy: it is using ‘a sledgehammer to crack a nut’. It does not apply the principle of proportionality. Moreover, it is likely to be so divisive in terms of the conditions for approving licences and in terms of planning applications. What would be a nuisance in Edinburgh would not necessarily be so in the Highlands.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

No. I think that it would be a burden, both financially and in terms of staff. In terms of inspection and monitoring, what will be the carbon footprint in an area as large as Highland? Surely this is contrary to the Climate Act and the aim to achieve net zero? Most of these officials are based in Dingwall and Inverness. How much will this cost in terms of mileage allowance and carbon emissions? I think that the HC planners will consider this a major headache and a total waste of their time and resources, which are already stretched.

Submission by Greg and Marie Lambert

We usually open one or two bedrooms in our house to offer Bed and Breakfast accommodation, during the summer.

We have just learned about new licensing requirements, coming in April this year, for small Bed and Breakfast establishments.

We would need a licence fee of £1000.00 per annum, a monitoring fee of £1000.00 per annum, and potentially a planning permission fee of £401.00, Plus up to £5000.00 to conform to new regulations, (e.g. replacing wooden floors with quieter carpeted flooring).

This would mean that we would make no profit, and would run at a loss.

We, like most small B and Bs, would be forced to close. This would have a great impact on the Scottish tourist industry. The North Coast 500, (near where we live), has become very popular over the last few years, and accommodation is already scarce in some areas. Local councils will also have a tremendous amount of extra work, in informing, inspecting, licensing and monitoring these premises. Sadly, B and Bs, where owners open their doors to welcome tourists, to sample friendly, Scottish rural life, at an affordable rate, are no longer viable.

Please think very carefully about the future of Scottish tourism, before allowing any related legislation to be approved and passed.

Submission by Marie Nicolson

There’s a lot of concern floating about at the moment about these regulations that are being decided by the Scottish Government. To be frank I have absolutely no idea how these changes could affect us as self caterers here in Orkney.

The point I want to make is that at this time of uncertainty and change with a pandemic still in full force and possibly Brexit affecting our industry and income, the very last thing I want to have to try and comprehend is more changes in regulations? I, as so many other providers do, juggle my self catering with other employment and family life. Add into this the last 10 months worth of juggling working from home and home schooling and extra covid-19 related protocols to follow at the accommodation it’s been challenging and that’s putting it mildly. I don’t have the cognitive space or physical energy to look into yet more regulations and apply the necessary changes at this time. Or have the spare cash to splash on anything I might have to change?

As I understand there could be licensing fees involved perhaps at the very least and I feel this next few years could be financially difficult as it is as we get back up off our knees.

And not just for the providers themselves but also the local authorities, especially here in Orkney, we have such a high number of holiday accommodation providers. I’m assuming licensing and all things involved (advising, consulting and assessing applications?) will be a massive undertaking. Are the local authorities all able to deal with that on top of all the pandemic and Brexit associated workload?

At the very least I believe this to be the wrong time to even be consulting on such a change to such a large industry never mind voting on and implementing it.

Submission by Margaret Smith

I am concerned about the implications of the proposed Bed and Breakfast Licensing Laws under consideration. .

This is due To:

1 Rural, seasonal, B&B establishments, being included, in the same Licencing laws as Self Catering properties in major Scottish cities.

2 This is a massive blow to my business with a proposed further levy after disastrous season (s) post Covid-19.

3 Having made significant business investment, to make provision for cyclists and walkers on the Hebridean Way. The route was designed at a huge cost and in 2018- 19 brought 10,000 people into our area. A much needed boost to our local economy. This new Licensing will have implications for rural seasonal B&Bs along the length of the route.

4 The implications of this extra tax, associated admin and costs on my business, will probably result in the withdrawal of my B&B servicing this route. It will not be viable and so if this Licensing includes B&Bs, I will be closing my business down.

Submission by Lynn Watts

Hi, we have a holiday cottage that we let out on weekly lets. Whilst I appreciate the need to regulate this sector, and believe that any minimum requirements under Health and Safety Regulations must be met, in order to keep guests safe, I feel that any system that requires a licence fee is wholly inappropriate in the current climate. Even if this in not collected until 2023, I believe that we will still be recovering economically from the Covid Pandemic and that any fee will be an additional burden on business. I wonder if some distinction can be made between Air B&B type places in cities and established self catering cottages such as ours, that are already registered for business rates. My insurer already requires sight of my documents and procedures regarding H&S, and my EHO can visit if required, as with the rest of my hospitality business. I feel that a very broad brush approach has been taken, to tackle a mainly city based issue, which may be less relevant in the future too, depending on travel restrictions going forward. It would perhaps be better to pause this legislation until the situation is much clearer.

Submission by Lynda MacCusbic

I write to add my name to many others who have offered their opinions, and significant concerns over the upcoming licensing and planning legislation regarding self catering properties.

I did in fact write with my objections during the consultation stage, however my input along with almost everyone I know on Skye with similar properties seem to have been largely ignored. I understand the next stage of the legislation will take place on the 27th of January. Therefore I would offer the following:

In brief, I along with my husband, built a self catering log cabin to serve as a annex to our home for our adult children who had returned to Skye for personal reasons. My daughter and grandson stayed in it for times and along with us in our croft house while waiting for a house to become available for her. She was on the local housing list for 19 months, classed as homeless with a 2 year old. My son staying there for periods and most recently during the first lockdown. I understand the housing problem in Skye and have been through that particular rollercoaster with my daughter, and thanks to Kate Forbes's help my daughter did indeed get a house in Portree after she intervened. The cabin was built in 2018/19 to help us financially as my husband is a crofter and I work in the NHS, it is difficult to make ends meet. The Cabin we built was let out to guests, whilst not in use by family. We had a very successful first season. The property is unsuitable for long term let due to its size and build type. Therefore can not and will not be of use to help with the problem of " housing" in Skye. Yet, we are to be disproportionally disadvantaged, like many others due to the Scottish Governments debacle of a scheme to " help" release properties to that housing sector.

I believe that this legislation is being introduced to combat problems within housing and in particular properties which are let out in the likes of Edinburgh to airbnb / short term let agencies. The premise under which the government introduce the SSI is to enforce Health and Safety measures in those properties. I fully agree that all properties whether private, social or let to guests should comply with safety regulations however this is not the way to do that, Indeed it is an ill- considered, badly drafted incompetent scheme which impacts unfairly and disproportionally on business's such as ours. The consultation period was limited and there was a huge lack of awareness regarding it. B and B owners now find themselves in the same sinking ship as self catering properties, they were not included in the consultation and therefore never had the opportunity to object.

When we were told to close our business due to Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions we fell through all the gaps in funding, despite trying all the avenues, all were closed to us. We pay our tax bill, we help with the local economy, we encourage visitors to Skye to boost tourism and in turn many local people have employment on the Island due to to that. Skye is very high on the " places to visit" list, encouraged by the Scottish Government, but yet- you introduce these wholly unfair and grossly over priced registration and monitoring laws? When we all close our doors where are the visitors to stay? As we saw in lockdown, the beauty of Skye will be devastated with campers, leaving their rubbish, excrement and the like in our fields, farms and laybys! Many of the B&B owners and owners of cottages/pods/cabins etc. will just decide to close down as it is too much of a minefield of legation bureaucracy and the expense is too extortionate. The Association of Self Catering put proposals to the Government suggesting that Health and Safety, if indeed that is your intent- is of course hugely important and should be mandatory, but the there are low cost, no fuss ways to do this, that will not close business and put people on UC and in the job centre! These opinions were ignored.

I ask that my concerns along with all the others that you are bound to receive be taken into account and ask you to reconsider this legislation which will if adopted by our local authority be the end of tourism in Skye and along with it a way of life that very many people need and enjoy.

Submission by Kathryn Mackenzie

Just reading and concerned about regulations which will impact on my Bed and Breakfast rooms I have available in my home, I have a private dwelling with rooms which I can accommodate guests over the summer season.

Now last year was a complete wash-out as the covid problem had me close for business and I expect this will continue this year.

To be honest I was not aware of this regulations but was sent information from Scottish Tourist Board in early January 2021 and that included a report from ASSC giving me information on the Local Authority conditions which I will have to have and fees of £2000 +. So to operate a Bed and Breakfast.

I have spent a considerable amount over the last few years in facilities in my home to cater for guests needs, New ensuite showers, CH, double glazing, Floor coverings, new beds and furniture. I have a fire certificate and a hard wired fire alarm in all rooms and Fire escape. (no grants or any help from other agencies – all funded by myself)

I can understand there may be a problem with some bed and breakfasts and Air BandB maybe this is more of an issue in larger towns and cities! As I live in a rural location there are no issues with noise as my nearest neighbour is about 1 miles from me.

I have worked hard to make my bed and breakfast a friendly and comfortable place to stay but with this added burden I think I will not continue with my small business.

I make a moderate income from Bed and Breakfast – this helps pay running costs, council tax, heating and maintenance, insurance and all the other bills – as my income is restricted my partner helps me financially - but with all this extra rules and cost I will regrettably no longer continue and just close the bed and breakfast!! – Its for me a lifestyle I enjoy catering for guests – its hard work during the season so not a fortune to be made!

A few other accommodation providers local to me are of the same opinion Its not just worth all the extra burden worry and costs so for me I do not think I will continue after 15 years I will miss meeting guests some who have returned regularly for years.

My last thoughts are that the Scottish Government should concentrate on more urgent matters as we have at this time – our local Authority I can guess will have no funding or staff to manage this new Short Term Letting system as they have difficulty in financing the services we have!

Submission by Mary Macpherson

I am very much against the increasing of regulation on short term letting especially the inclusion of established B&B’s. Over a long period of time it is quite hard to maintain a B&B business that is able to sustain a living. A lot of costs are involved in the up keep of a building, heating and servicing of rooms. Some people may have done well in the last few years but this is not a true reflection of the last few decades. Increasing the operating costs and the addition of extra regulation will damage businesses and some will likely close. After the losses suffered due to Covid this could be the last straw for many businesses new & old.

Submission by Andrew Banks

I am against the increase in regulation of the B&B sector. Covid or no Covid this would damage a great number of small businesses. Benefiting large corporate hotels, often owned overseas. The level of local employment gained from a large collection of small businesses obtaining income from tourists, creating a net inflow of currency is too great to quantify and would be silly to jeopardise.

Submission by Brigid Maclachlan

Like so many people who will be affected by these regulations - I felt unable to answer these questions and unqualified. But I feel I should not feel unable to speak up.

During the Scottish Government’s consultation prior to this, I attended the public consultation meeting in Portree, Skye. We were categorically told that if you ran a small B&B, you would not be affected by the new rules. What happened?

Another thing to note was that on an island (Skye) with so many bed and breakfasts and self catering businesses - only about 4 or 5 businesses were represented at the meeting - hugely outnumbered by various agents with legitimate concerns, complaints, or neighbours with personal issues relating to tourist accommodation.

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

I don’t think that they do.

This proposed legislation, it seems to me, will disproportionately disadvantage the portion of the local low earning population of Skye and elsewhere, who do not have capital, and for whom airbnb etc has been a godsend.

It seems it will not be such a problem for larger businesses or for the people who have several houses bought as holiday lets.

It will not protect or promote small local businesses, and as I said, the people who have little or no capital - many of us have been able to create good businesses and give visitors real connection with the island they are visiting.

It is not simply a question of licencing fees, it is a question of the extra burden of increased regulations to have to meet, the added costs and complication in an ever more complicated world.

Personally, I rely on the income that I earn from renting out a very basic old traditional building next to my home, sharing my bathroom with guests. Visitors say that they love the personal contact and the fact that it is so simple. I turnover around roughly £15,000 per year with which I support my schoolage son. This business gives me income - and like so many others, particularly women I know, a chance to do something well and have self respect, after years of struggling to make ends meet in a seasonal economy. However, it has not given me enough money to have capital to invest, particularly after this last year.

Why, during the financially difficult and uncertain times we face at present, would the Scottish government make things more difficult for us? With licencing due to become law on 1st April 2021, no capital, and covid - it’s difficult to see the way ahead.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

I don’t feel qualified to answer this question.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

I wonder how our financially stretched local authority will manage this and still manage to make any license and other fees reasonable and affordable for ‘micro' businesses.

Submission by Deirdre Henderson

I would like to submit my views on the licensing proposal for short term letting having lived experience of residing beside two different short term lets in two different tenements in Edinburgh, for my family and neighbours. I fully support the submission by PLACE Edinburgh. I am very concerned that the latest proposal seems to have watered down the requirement for Planning Permission being needed which is essential for neighbours to be able find out that a short term let is being considered, and to ensure that they have the opportunity to object. Having Planning Permission also shows that a level of health and safety has been met, that the property is suitable for short term letting, and fits with local development plan priorities. To delay the date that owners must apply for a license being extended to April 2023 disadvantages residents and goes against the Scottish Government's Public Sector Equality Duty under Equality Law:

'An authority to which this section applies must, when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions, have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage.'

Research from the Edinburgh Poverty Commission shows that increased housing costs in Edinburgh, where most Airbnbs are located, has actively contributed to increasing poverty due to fostering higher housing costs. This is reflected in recent research which shows that short term lets raise rents - '14.2% of overall rent increases within the study period can be attributed to short-term rentals.'

Therefore, by delaying the end date for the registering for licenses the Scottish Government would continue to maintain and increase poverty, which is unacceptable.

Likewise, under Equality Law there is an expectation that the Scottish Government should promote the rights of protected characteristic groupings. By delaying the date for registering licensing it discriminates against people living in tenements in Edinburgh, where Edinburgh Council has a presumption against short term lets commercially operating in tenements due to the disruption to the permanent residents. Case law, upheld by the Scottish Government has recognised this, closing many unlawful short term lets. Certain equality groupings e.g. minority ethnic groups are statistically more likely to live in flats.

Submission by New Town & Broughton Community Council

Short term letting is a huge issue for Edinburgh at large and especially in the city centre area within our jurisdiction. We are pleased that appropriate legislation is in the process of being drawn up but ask that it is a priority for legislation to be both timely and effective. Edinburgh needs regulation now.

In particular we support the mandatory delay to implement the licensing scheme must be cancelled, planning permission should be a mandatory condition, rigorous enforceability and transparency

Submission by Anna Morris

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

No, they do not strike the correct balance. The evidence set out to demonstrate that a correct balance has been struck is lacking in scope, empirical evidence and depth. Key stakeholders representing businesses (the supply chain) that promote tourism and local economies have not been consulted (only 4 companies noted which are similar but not identical to our business model) and I don't see empirical evidence of how businesses involved in the short term let industry will be affected and what jobs might be lost (cleaners, marketing jobs, financial administrators, software developers, linen suppliers, guest relations, property managers, revenue managers, concierge companies to name but a few).

What estimated tourist spend to the local economy will be lost as a result of these proposals? What estimated tax loss/unemployment could occur? The focus seems to be on the property owners or ‘hosts’ and not the companies that often service the provision of short term lets such as cleaning companies, property management companies, software companies, holiday let marketing agencies and tradespeople. These companies do not necessarily have assets in terms of properties and their survival hinges on owners being able to let out their holiday homes. There is an assumption that owners have multiple properties - again where is the evidence for this?

There are many unsupported assertions and unividenced assumptions in the BRIA (which was not published at the release of the consultation as is standard practice) put forward to support the argument for the positive effects of the legislation. To be concise I will give a couple of examples. Finally, tourism and local economies have been devastated by Covid-19 so to implement this legislation just now may be untenable for many owners who now, even if they wanted to, will not have any reserves left to pay for the required licensing. Even under normal trading conditions are the considerable costs involved in operating to a professional level understood - I don't see evidence of this.

1.2 Questionable Argument in the BRIA It is argued that Tradespeople will benefit by having to get properties up to standard as a result of the proposals. How many currently are not up to standard - This is surely key? Therefore tradespeople may be likely to lose work if the costs involved push owners who already have the right standards/certificates away from short term letting.

1.3 Questionable Argument in the BRIA “a secondary let might be repurposed as a private residential tenancy with a permanent member of the community earning and spending in that community; and the visitors who might have used that accommodation are likely to be able to find other accommodation that meets their needs. It therefore seems unreasonable to assert that the visitor spend would not occur at all” (G4: 109)

My question is why would this happen - have they surveyed all short term holiday let owners? Many owners will simply leave their properties sitting empty and will not ‘repurpose’ them and therefore this will result in an absolute loss to the local economy as no tourism spend and no income for local small businesses. The argument is put forward that guests will move to hotels if the stock is reduced - where is the empirical evidence for this? Our guests will probably go to another country (cheap flights abroad to stay in a self catering villa for example). Hotels and holiday lets are not the same offering.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms let in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No they have not. B & B’s seem to be included and ‘hosts’ and amateur Airbnb owners are not clearly defined as separate from professional operators (which they should be). Professional operators are likely to be operating to the highest standards by definition. Where is the evidence of B&B operators having been consulted?

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? This will be a huge and unnecessary bureaucratic and financial burden to local authorities. Will they also have the resources and ability to be able to make decisions surrounding granting licenses that will benefit tourism and all local businesses? Many holiday let operators and agencies are micro businesses (perhaps not widely known) which may not be able to withstand the impact of this legislation but who contribute in a relatively big way to the local and wider economy - again where is the empirical evidence to support or refute this. Could it be that there is something unique about these businesses that attracts tourists to Scotland or parts of Scotland and without them, many tourists will just not come.

Submission by Edele Murphy

Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? No. In my experience the operators of the small businesses that this legislation will impact are often in this industry by necessity. They are people that require flexibility in their day to day work due to caring commitments of young children or elderly parents; or require to supplement a pension/redundancy payoff; as well as farmers trying to make ends meet; property owners trying to generate income and a means to upkeep their properties. As the main requirement to being in this business is a lot of hard work it is open to a wide variety of people, to my mind this is exactly the type of long-term sustainability that local communities need in order to build strong economies. Allowing people to have control over their income and what they do with their property. This legislation will stop this type of micro business, introducing so much uncertainty over licencing, planning permission requirements and other red tape will make these endeavours worthless, particularly for the small one property operator. When I began renting our apartment in 2010, I was surprised that there were not more regulations as I had been a registered landlord for a long term let previously. I have welcomed the guidance and increase in requirements for best practice over the years and see them as sensible and fair. Over 30% of my annual business is repeat customers, the 16 other apartments in the building have never drawn my attention to an issue with my business. I know all my neighbours and am on the residents committee. I am a typical short term let owner. The rogues that have no regard for their customers or neighbours are not going to change their ways because of this legislation, those operators will continue as they please. I understand that the politicians Inboxes are filled with complaints from angry neighbours. However, we need some proper analysis around this industry, comparing the impact of having the businesses against not, and investigating sensible, workable solutions rather than enacting this ill-fitting legislation. The proposed changes do not promote tourism, it is lessening the choice for tourists coming to Scotland. My apartment is suitable for guests with mobility issues, guests are welcome to bring their pets, apartments have many more and different amenities than hotels can offer. It would be a shame to lose this alternative rather than rethinking this legislation with clear heads and much more consultation and analysis once the Covid crisis has been dealt with and the industry and the country begins to recover.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No. As it states in the consultation document ‘most people have an intuitive sense of what constitutes a short term let’ so arrangements like student accommodation being used as short term lets over the summer would raise eyebrows as to the different treatment of what would on the face of it seem to be the same business model. Again, this reiterates the desperate need for more consultation and analysis.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? No. I believe there is sufficient legislation to allow local authorities to regulate self- catering already, it is likely a lack of resource that is currently stopping them from closing the few unscrupulous owners that are in the market already.

Over and above answering the questions posed, I would like to point out that most operators are exhausted. We have suffered continual bashing of our industry in the press and on social media. We pay tax; provide a professional service as well as safe beautiful places for people to stay. We welcome tourists and represent Scotland in a friendly, winning manner. However, we live in fear of being reported, as it is not clear if we can be closed down or not. A government that could work with this industry to further raise standards rather than forcing a licencing system that I have yet to be convinced will help, would be a welcome change. The past few years as well as the threat of an elusive licencing scheme, we have faced the non-domestic rates revaluation and appeal process, we have been closed for the guts of a year due to the covid restrictions, there is only so much energy that people have to try and convince government that this industry is beneficial to Scotland and one they should be proud off.

Submission by Graeme and Eilean Connelly

We feel that we should write to you with regards to the proposed legislation regarding the Licensing of Short Term Lets in Scotland.

Our B & B has been operating here successfully for over 20 years, indeed it was this history that encouraged us to purchase it in 2016. We understand the need to regulate Air BnB lettings in Edinburgh and large towns where there have been issues, however to include legitimate B & B establishments such as ourselves, who have been running for years with no issues in this is short sighted. Additional licensing fees and registration fees will simply make this, our only source of income, unviable. This during what has been the worst period for all industries is also exceptionally badly timed. We believe this will be especially damaging in our area due to the highly seasonal aspect of tourism in Caithness. The loss of many B & B's will also impact many other tourist based organisations if there is a lack of suitable accommodation. The only ones who will benefit from this would be the campervans who tour the area, many of whom put little finances into the area, and some who cause damage to our fragile ecosystem.

We would please ask that you carefully consider this before you pass this highly damaging legislation.

Submission by Scottish Islands Federation 1.Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? The principle of short-term lets regulation being introduced to ensure that local authorities can balance the needs and concerns of their communities with wider economic and tourism interests, especially on the islands is welcome. However, we feel the legislation regarding the licencing regime is too draconian for its purpose as it does not differentiate between big businesses and the small and micro-businesses in an island and rural environment which are often the backbone of the local economy. We are concerned about the lack of details regarding Control Areas in the Town and Country (Short terms Lets Control Areas) (Scotland) regulations 2021: It is not clear how the control areas will be set up for the Short Terms Lets licensing. What process will be used to differentiate between the many different communities within one Local Authority area? An Island Community Impact Assessment (ICIA) must be done for each island before selection of control areas by Island Local authorities and Local Authorities with islands. This island proofing process is necessary to ensure the balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies on the islands. The recommendations of the Licensing Law Committee of the Law Society of Scotland emphasised the importance of piloting the new licensing scheme ahead of implementation. This should be used to improve the proposed legislation, which where islands are concerned is underpinned only by the isle of Skye in the research done so far. The isle of Skye in the initial Indigo study is not at all representative of most islands. There has been no ICIA or other research to identify the effect of the legislation on other islands. The BRIA study refers to evidence-informed decision making and for the islands, an ICIA is the best way to provide that evidence. 1. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? We are still unclear how the legislation might affect small scale tourism developments such as pods, huts, bothies - the growing glamping sector – and why these are included alongside traditional B&Bs, already well –regulated. The design of licencing requirements shows no realistic understanding of the micro- nature of many island and rural businesses. There are concerns about mandatory licensing every three years and about the licencing requirements especially for small or micro businesses. A one size fits all approach will lead to many small operators quitting the sector. That will adversely affect the economy and sustainability of island communities, already severely affected by the covid crisis.

3 / Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? Local Authorities are already overstretched, and we fear the application of the legislation to small and micro-businesses will not be done in a fair manner. The 2 year period allowed in recognition of the resource implications to the regulations, will still be a major additional administrative burden for Local Authorities. The response from both an Island Local authority (CneSIAR) and a Local Authority with islands (Highland Council ) expresses concerns about these issues in this difficult period when Covid is stretching their budgets even further, and the lack of specific Scottish Government funding for set-up costs. For the regulations and controls areas to work, there must adequate funding provided to island councils and councils with islands to set up the infrastructure, select their control areas and inspection mechanisms and not further erode the quality of the services that they have to deliver to the islands. The concept of a discounted fee for low volume hosts is appealing, but there needs to be clarity on the ways fee differentiation will be done and on what basis. Again this will need to be explored through the lense of an ICIA.. However, ICIAs will undoubtedly add to the administrative burden of our overstretched councils. We also need reassurance that islands and their varied and unique circumstances are properly represented on the Short Lets Working Group, perhaps via the Island Team.

Submission by Kinloch Castle Friends

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

Across rural Scotland, local communities have been hit by unprecedented levels of income loss due to the COVID-19 restrictions and the Isle of Rum is no exception.

We wholeheartedly support concerns raised by Bed and Breakfast owner, Fliss Fraser. Fliss says: “there has been no income from tourism since September 2019 and no likelihood of any until at least the summer of 2021. It will take many years to recover from this, effectively, three winters without income”.

We also share Fliss Fraser’s concerns that “no Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been undertaken. This is a crucial element of the Islands (Scotland) Act, designed to ensure that legislation protects the financial, social and economic future viability of islands.

We believe the framework legislation is not competent to be taken forward, nor is it island-proof. It should therefore be rejected and struck out.

We believe the government’s foremost priority should be to sustain vital local businesses like Fliss Fraser’s and support recovery from the present difficulties, rather than imposing nationwide regulation that is largely only relevant to tourist hotspots and alleged “overtourism” at such locations as Edinburgh and possibly Skye.

Many in this sector have struggled all year and simply do not have the resources or reserves to survive another winter. Now is not the time to be saddling them with this unnecessary burden.

Many have described the proposals as a “sledgehammer to crack a nut” and expressed fears it could put at risk the future of the sector in Scotland in this time of uncertainty and chaos. Many small businesses of this type all over Scotland will feel that they will just not be able to deal with this extra cost.

While it is apparent that this legislation attempts to deal with housing problems and some Airbnb hosts within specific areas, creating a licensing scheme to cover all self catering and B&B businesses is a disproportionate response. How can the proposals create any benefit in rural and island communities in terms of housing when there is no link between licensing and the development of affordable housing in the legislation.

If self-catering becomes unviable in the Isle of Rum, due to the cost of licensing ( £2,500 each year per property), it will have an enormous impact on the island economy, affecting other businesses that depend on visitors and tourism to sustain the fragile island community.

Our visitor survey has shown that a high value is placed on being able to stay in Bed and Breakfast accommodation on the Isle of Rum. We re-ran this survey last week on Twitter and availability of island Bed and Breakfast accommodation figured highly in attracting people to visit the island. Shortage of self catering and Bed and Breakfast since Kinloch Castle closed is recognised as a barrier to accommodating visitors and sustaining the tourism offer in the Isle of Rum.

It is uncertain that Scotland will have recovered from the impact of the pandemic by April 2023, the proposed deadline for all self catering businesses to be licensed. A simpler and more effective registration scheme which would require a Bill (primary legislation), Development and Parliamentary consideration of a Bill, followed by secondary legislation and an implementation period, would likely push back the opening of a registration scheme to sometime in 2024 (whereas the licensing scheme will open in April 2022). The Scottish Government’s view is that such a timetable is too slow however, in light of the pandemic, rushing the legislation through this session of Parliament seems very short sighted and liable to inflict more damage on the fragile tourism economy.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

Due to a very truncated consultation impacted by the pandemic, the legislation has been poorly drafted. Home sharing seems to inadvertently been added to the legislation laid before Parliament on 14 December. The Bed and Breakfast sector was not included on the original documentation, and this sector has not been consulted at all, making the basis of this legislation incompetent. We would therefore ask that this legislation should be overruled and rejected.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? Licensing is a specialist area, it will have a significant impact on overstretched local authorities and other local services, potentially overburdening licensing administration, with a knock-on effect on reporting obligations with Police Scotland and other authorities such as Fire and Building Standards, who will likely have to comment on each application. This could impact on processing times for other types of civic licence. It may involve employing temporary office staff as there are over 30,000 premises on Air BnB alone. Inspections that will have to occur in order to produce reports that the properties meet the required safety standards will demand a significant staffing resource.

These comments above address specifically the current situation on Rum, but given that the perceived best future for Kinloch Castle as shown by various reports and appraisals commissioned over the years by Scottish Natural Heritage (now NatureScot) is to run the castle as visitor accommodation either as self catering units or as bed and breakfast accommodation, it also impacts on any current or future plans for the Castle.

Submission by David Clarke

Sorry for this short submission but I would like to say that anything that can be done to reduce the amount of Airbnb lets in Edinburgh would be most welcome. It distorts the housing market, places hotels and commercial establishments at a disadvantage, brings low end tourism that undermines our aim to be a top tier destination and turns the housing market into an investment class rather than homes for people. It would undermine our uniquely liveable city centre to have unfettered trade in this area — the fact the Edinburgh, alone amongst most cities, has a strongly residential city centre makes it uniquely vulnerable to the downsides of this kind of activity.

Submission by Scarista Schoolhouse

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

As a prospective new entrant to the self catering sector in the Isle of Harris, these proposed changes do not seem to be at all well balanced towards protecting the long term sustainability of local communities, or promoting tourism and strong economies in the island context.

My own situation is that I left Harris in 2014, due to lack of broadband availability meaning my family could not work from Harris, and since then have been saving up to carry out a full renovation of my house in order to be able to run a B&B/self catering let. This will be my main income and will allow me to live and work in Harris, while my husband works from home in Harris now that broadband has at the start of 2021 just become available at Scarista.

Our renovation was due to start in March 2020, due to the Scottish Government ban on construction work during the pandemic, the renovation was delayed until September 2020. It has been further delayed by subsequent lockdowns affecting supply chains of materials. Currently part renovated, I have a huge outlay but am unable to earn an income this year from the house and therefore unable to move back to Harris. My mother was the first of 7 generations to leave Harris, and as a second generation returner, it is heartbreaking to me to consider shelving my long cherished wish to return. It will mean that our house is likely to remain empty for those parts of the year when we/family are unable to occupy it ourselves. It means we won’t be able to contribute to the local economy or help sustain the fragile local community, or help sustain Gaelic, all of which are deeply important to me.

The prospect of an outlay of £2500 on top of the renovation costs, plus associated administration costs of applying for planning permission as well as the licensing scheme, plus the uncertainty and chaos over when tourism is likely to resume, means it is highly likely I will be deterred from entering the self catering and tourism sector. This means that I am unlikely to move my family back to Harris as we could sustain ourselves long term without additional income which a holiday let could provide.

Across rural Scotland, local communities have been hit by unprecedented levels of income loss due to the COVID-19 restrictions and the Isle of Harris, I am aware, is no exception.

Many self catering owners I know is the islands say there has been no income from tourism since September 2019 and no likelihood of any until at least the summer of 2021. It will take many years to recover from this, effectively, three winters without income.

I share the concerns that no Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been undertaken. This is a crucial element of the Islands (Scotland) Act, designed to ensure that legislation protects the financial, social and economic future viability of islands.

I believe the framework legislation is not competent to be taken forward, nor is it island-proof. It should therefore be rejected and struck out.

I strongly feel the government’s foremost priority should be to sustain vital local businesses in the islands and support recovery from the present difficulties, rather than imposing nationwide regulation that is largely only relevant to tourist hotspots and alleged “overtourism” at such locations as Edinburgh and possibly Skye.

Many in this sector have struggled all year and simply do not have the resources or reserves to survive another winter. Now is not the time to be saddling them with this unnecessary burden.

If self-catering becomes unviable here in the Isle of Harris, due to the cost of licensing (£2,500 each year per property), it will have an enormous impact on the island economy, affecting the tapestry of other small businesses that depend on visitors and tourism to sustain the fragile island community.

It is uncertain that Scotland will have recovered from the impact of the pandemic by April 2023, the proposed deadline for all self catering businesses to be licensed.

A simpler and more effective registration scheme which would require a Bill (primary legislation), Development and Parliamentary consideration of a Bill, followed by secondary legislation and an implementation period, would likely push back the opening of a registration scheme to sometime in 2024 (whereas the licensing scheme will open in April 2022).

The Scottish Government’s view is that such a timetable is too slow however, in light of the pandemic, rushing the legislation through this session of Parliament seems very short sighted and liable to inflict more damage on the fragile tourism economy.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

Due to a very truncated consultation impacted by the pandemic, the legislation has been poorly drafted. Home sharing seems to inadvertently have been added to the legislation laid before Parliament on 14 December. The Bed and Breakfast sector was not included on the original documentation, and this sector has not been consulted at all, making the basis of this legislation incompetent. I would therefore ask that this legislation should be overruled and rejected.

Submission by Melanie Allen

I make the following representations and objections in my capacity as:

• Proprietor of Nithbank Country Estate, a 5 star country house B&B in Dumfriesshire, • Board Director of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance, • Vice Chair of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, • Company Secretary of the ASSC.

As a responsible professional operator and member of the tourism community in the South of Scotland,

I would like to raise my objection to the proposals being made for a licensing scheme and request that the draft legislation is annulled by the Committee. I fully support and endorse the written evidence submitted by the ASSC to the Committee. The Licensing Scheme proposed by the Housing Minister, Kevin Stewart MSP is incompetent and assaults valuable tourism micro businesses in a manner that will lead to many ceasing to operate. This threatens the very heart of Scottish rural tourism – and is in direct conflict of the Scottish Tourism Alliance Tourism Strategy: Outlook 2030. Responsible Tourism for a Sustainable Future. The reason Scottish Tourism is successful and has so much opportunity to grow post Covid, is due to several assets which sit within the micro business sector:

• The diverse range of unique quality accommodation • The warm hospitality that the Professional Operators provide • The VALUE that these Professional Operators ADD to the guest experience • The VAULE that these businesses ADD to the supply chain in our rural communities

Without these valuable businesses, Scottish Tourism will quite frankly be dull. We have a huge opportunity to develop Scotland as a World Class Destination and leader in 21st Century Tourism – If Scottish Government continue to hit on micro businesses then put quite simply VisitScotland will have no product to market. If you want to decrease the Tourism Economy in Scotland –The STL Delivery Group have shown us just how to do it! The Scottish Government should return to a real and informed dialogue with the tourism industry to replace the Licensing scheme with a balanced registration system for Bed and Breakfasts and Self catering/ STL Businesses across Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee has asked for evidence in response to the questions below:

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

Please find my response to these questions in the following correspondence: 1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? No, the Scottish Government has not carried out a competent BRIA to answer this question. No, the proposed changes fall far short of striking the correct balance between protecting the longterm sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies. No, a licensing system is a blunt tool to fix a perceived and localised problem of amateur online platform operators in Edinburgh, rather than being a solution that is appropriate for the whole of the Scotland, nor is it one that makes a necessary distinction between different types of visitor accommodation providers.

No, now is not the time to introduce these regulations given the impact of Covid-19 on the Scottish tourism sector. Instead, as requested by tourism and business stakeholders, the Scottish Government should postpone their regulations in order to give the industry time to recover from the devastating effect of the Covid pandemic. The prioritisation of this issue during a global pandemic, when related pieces of legislation such as the transient visitor levy have been dropped, and when many in the tourism industry are struggling for survival, needs to be seriously questioned.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No, B&Bs were clearly not intended to fall within the definition of a Short Term Let for the purposes of the SSI.

On 14 December Fiona Campbell as CEO of the ASSC remotely met [redacted] Chair of the Short- Term Let Delivery Group. Fiona Campbell asked [redacted] directly whether he was aware that B&Bs were included as Short-Term Lets within the SSI. [redacted] was not aware of the inclusion of B&Bs as Short-Term Lets at the time of that meeting. The following is taken from the letter that Fiona Campbell, sent to Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, on 21 December. In Fiona’s words, quoting [redacted]:

“[redacted] was initially unable to confirm whether B&Bs were included in the accommodation types to fall within the scope of the regulations. Some two days later, he came back to say the following:

‘Your understanding is correct: home sharing is defined in the Licensing Order (sch 2 para 13) and includes bed and breakfast activity. B&Bs are not listed as excluded accommodation at schedule 1. Guest houses are excluded (para 1(d) of sch 1). Change of use from a house (class 9 in the Use Classes Order) to a guest house (class 7) generally requires planning permission. So the exclusion applies to properties that have planning permission to operate as a guest house. A house (class 9) can be used to offer bed and breakfast without planning permission where no more than two bedrooms are used for this purpose or, in the case of premises having less than four bedrooms, only one bedroom is used for that purpose. A flat cannot generally be used to offer bed and breakfast without planning permission. The use of houses (class 9) as B&Bs is a form of home sharing and we have always intended to include this activity within definition of short-term lets. Our 2019 consultation paper proposed excluding ‘licensed hotels and B&Bs and self-catering properties on their premises’.

We have excluded (para 1(e) of sch 1) restaurants with rooms and inns, for example, where they are already licensed specifically to offer accommodation under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.” There was no BRIA for the B&B sector, the Delivery Group did not consult fully with the B&B sector, it is evident that there has been a clear error in terms of the drafting of the SSI. B&Bs are now left in this position, having been unintentionally included in ridiculous legislation that was never intended to affect them. The SSI should be annulled before further damage is done to the B&B sector, the supply chains they support and our already fragile economy in rural Scotland.

The Scottish Government in refusing to acknowledge a clear error, now requires that a stay within B&B accommodation is classified as ‘a tenancy’ - and attracts the same provisions to protect holidaymakers in a B&B as those that protect families in long term residential lets. That is clearly ludicrous and does not follow property law principles in any shape, way or form. To elaborate, B&Bs now need to comply with the long term let Repairing Standard and EPC requirement (all without a BRIA to assess the cost of compliance). Existing legislation covering both issues currently specifically excludes B&Bs.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

No, The ASSC in The Financial Impact of Short Term Let Licensing and Planning Controls on Scottish Local Authorities sets out the individual responses from Councils as they realise that, absent any additional funds in place from the Scottish Government, the task to set up and run this Licensing system will be impossible in the post COVID climate. Given the complexities of monitoring and enforcement set out in the draft legislation, it appears highly unlikely that Councils will be able to comply with the Scottish Government’s requirement that the Licensing Scheme is self-funding. The Councils will be faced with having to push tourism micro- businesses into becoming unable to meet their Licensing fees, and thus ceasing to operate, or going ‘cap in hand’ to a government that will undoubtedly have washed its hands of the mess and will refuse to grant additional funds to the Councils in order to both set up and run the Licensing scheme. Only one question remains which has not yet to date, been answered by Kevin Stewart MSP or Scottish Government:

Why is this legislation being pushed forward at such an horrific and challenging time for small Scottish independent businesses? Don't we all have enough to deal with? In short - this legislation is a mess. Incompetent, wrong in law and leading to huge costs, both in terms of potential litigation and administration. I trust the Committee will be able to extrapolate the incompetence shown by the Delivery Group, the effect this will have as Council’s endeavour to interpret the flawed draft legislation, and ultimately, most importantly of all the significant effect on stretched hard pressed self-caterers and B&Bs grappling with this incompetence and complying with onerous additional mandatory conditions on top of the COVID crisis…. The mental health and wellbeing of many small independent PROFESSIONAL operators are currently at a lifetime low! Common sense must prevail!

Submission by Jon Lloyd

I live on the Isle of Mull, I earn around £10,000 pa from part time work and work a croft. In 2019 I put around £20,000 savings into one yurt accommodation in 2019. In 2019 income was £7000, in 2020 it was £4000. Around half of that income is taken up by costs - gas, wood, cleaning equipment, furniture, not mention the time it costs it me to do changeovers and maintenance. to add £2000 licencing fees would cripple the yurt business in a poor economy which relies on fishing and tourism and put me into poverty. This is madness - why add costs to a marginal economy that is struggling already. I don't get it. Making ends meet is hard enough already and this season looks like it will also be decimated by Covid.

Submission by Craig Morrison

In Autumn 2020, I purchased a B&B in Perth, and was looking forward to start trading in 2021. However, I am horrified to see the Governments New Licensing Scheme for Short-term Lets set to be put in place from 1 April 2021.

COVID has devastated the B&B sector since March last year, and instead of being allowed to start to recover from this nightmare, more financial costs and regulations are set to be imposed upon us.

I knew that there had been issues in areas such as Edinburgh, with Airbnb rentals in say tenement buildings, be it noise disturbance, anti-social behaviour, or their contribution to a lack of available housing for others. However, those in B&Bs are being penalised and tarnished with the same brush, even though this sector already has regulations in place, and are making a large financial contribution to the government as it is.

The financial implications of the proposed licence and monitoring fees, which might be over £2,000 per business per year is huge, plus the further impact of proposed EPC compliance (£5,000). Many B&Bs are bringing in under £20,000 per annum, before any deductions are made for running/operational costs, business rates, insurance cover, and all other overheads, so to have 10% (i.e. £2,000) instantly go out the door is unbelievable.

B&Bs are an integral part of Scotlands travel industry, and are an institution known worldwide, yet if the proposals are put in place (i.e. by not making B&Bs exempt) the B&B industry shall be decimated even further post-COVID, and MANY will without question close, which in turn shall have a huge impact on other businesses, especially where many B&Bs help provide support in remote locations.

We already have Brexit and COVID to contend with, so this will be another nail in the coffin for many B&B business owners (60,000 in Scotland), so suitable action is needed now to avert this catastrophe.

I for one shall have to reassess the actual feasibility of running a B&B under this proposed New Licensing Scheme for Short-term Lets.

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? No, for reasons mentioned above, and I think that B&Bs are not in the same bracket as those who use online platforms such as Airbnb to rent out a room or apartment. 2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No. Consultation has not followed the Governments own guidelines and there has been a lack of consultation with B&B owners. 3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? No. The proposals shall impact heavily upon local authorities with regards to the time, money and resources needed, especially as the country is already dealing with a pandemic, and the proposals are not appropriate for B&B owners, and thus B&Bs should be excluded.

Submission by Louise Nicoll

In recent days, our attention at has led us to understand B&B businesses are included in the SSIs (Scottish Statutory Instruments) for the proposed Short Term Let Licence. In response to the three questions: 1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? NO. By including B&Bs in the proposal for a Short-term let Licence, many B&Bs will not be viable to continue to operate. 2. Has the Scottish Government defined short-term lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? NO. Until only a few days ago, B&Bs were unaware the proposal included this category and were overwhelmingly under-represented in the Consultation. 3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? NO. Local authorities are already overburdened and have raised their concerns at the Consultation of the cost implications requiring additional staff in Planning, Licensing and carrying out inspections. The following points further clarify why the SSIs should be rejected: The B&B sector were grossly under-represented in the Consultation, with just 3.03% Hotels/B&Bs of the 1086 responses. The fact that representation of B&Bs are included with Hotels (exempt) and not together with Hosts (short term let), is evident that it was not the intention to include B&B businesses in the SSIs. B&Bs have been swept along and inadvertently included when the category, like Hotels and Guest Houses should be exempt.

As members of Scotland’s Best B&Bs, it was extremely disappointing to learn the only Quality Assured 4 and 5 star organisation in the country, was not included in the Consultation to represent many bone fide B&B businesses, already adhering to the relevant legislation covering the hospitality sector, such as fire regulations, public liability insurance etc. Particularly when the Group is held in such high regard by Visit Scotland and other organisations in Scottish tourism and noticeable by its omission to make contribution in the Consultation.

The BRIA (Business & Regulatory Impact Assessments) when it was finally carried out without fair representation of the B&B sector, time and again differentiates between Short Term Let accommodation and B&Bs in its wording. It is clear in this representation that B&Bs are NOT intended for inclusion in the proposed License and have erroneously been omitted in the Exempt category to be included with Guest Houses. B&Bs are synonymous with Guest Houses and never a Short-term let.

This at a time when my business has been unable to operate to any degree due to the pandemic since early 2020 and continues. The recovery for the loss of income will take many financial years if ever, for my business to recoup. The financial burden to gain a Licence, possible planning permission and meet the mandatory criteria especially in an old rural property, the costs will be even greater and is impossible to comprehend, at a time when the Pandemic is as robust as it was in March 2020.

The BRIA states ‘it is expected that the hosts will absorb some of the costs’. And yet to administer, Local authorities are expected to recoup all costs from License income. This is the wrong Licence to enforce on B&B establishments and most certainly at the wrong time.

We know that you are only too aware that the hospitality sector has been particularly hard hit by the financial impacts of the virus. It is guaranteed that some businesses will never recover from this crisis. It is incomprehensible the Scottish Government is pressing for this legislation to be rushed through Parliament in an economic climate of deep uncertainty and genuine anxiety for small business operators. May we ask emphatically, that these Regulations are REJECTED. Submission by Morag Robertson and Lynn Barbour

We are sending this joint email with our concerns and views on The Scottish Government Consultation on Short Term let Licensing Legislation as we are both proprietors of premises that are part of the Orkney Islands' network of accommodation providers.

We would like the following points to be looked at and carefully considered, as it is essential that The Scottish Government hear the views of the proprietors and professionals who are actually 'in the front line' of Tourism and through experience have honed their trade by listening to their many visitors and guests that have come to Scotland and stayed at their accommodation, whatever that may be...Bed & Breakfast...Self Catering....or an Island Retreat.

Our Rural and peripheral places, especially island communities, only have a very short Season to generate 1 year's income. Often such places, for any visitors, are more expensive to reach and involve a more complex travel network. Therefore short term accommodation providers do not have simple 'passing trade' but rather visitors who have to plan a visit to the more peripheral, remote places in Scotland. Yet,these are the very areas in Scotland that are world renowned, The 'Flag ship' places for their both their stunning beauty in landscape as well as ancient culture and heritage. The Hospitality of Scotland's reputation is because of the intense commitment and work that all accommodation providers offer to give all visitors a uniquely Scottish experience...never to be forgotten.

If The Scottish Government Consultation on Short Term Let Licensing Legislation is put through without listening to these committed voices of Scottish accommodation providers then this World renowned reputation of Scotland's Hospitality is at the risk of being suffocated and diminished greatly because of a quagmire of regulations exhausting and overwhelming the very people (the accommodation providers) who create the very base for all visitors' holiday experiences found solely in Scotland.

The extra costs involved in more regulations are going to further marginalise any profit potential for so many of these small businesses.

The business of providing accommodation on a short term basis is extremely labour intensive and requires properties to be kept to a very high standard every year, which in turn necessitates ongoing investment. The wide range of unique and bespoke types of Scottish accommodations offered is what makes Scotland the unique place to visit that it is, from the Scottish Borders to The Highlands and Islands. This uniqueness thereby contributes significantly to the overall income generated for the country. All guests who visit Scotland buy Scottish crafts and services, eat out and taste Scottish food products, attend Scottish events, visit Scottish Heritage and cultural attractions and experience Scottish leisure activities. In so doing all these visitors provide the footfall for so many other businesses in tourism within every individual region of Scotland.

However, it must be remembered that each and every visitor will return each night as the guest of their accommodation provider to enjoy a quality hospitality experience...the accommodation of each visitor to Scotland is the base from which their holiday starts and finishes each day of their Scottish holiday.

If the people who provide this accommodation base are not valued what is at risk is driving accommodation providers out of the Tourist industry and in so doing obliterating the rich tapestry of provision across all of Scotland which has taken decades to establish and create the World renowned reputation we have today.

Please note the following points:

• Most self-catering and short term-lets businesses are already regulated specifically re. fire safety, insurance and quality grading. if it is the AirBnB section that is the main problem then surely specific measures should be put in place to regulate this specific AirBnB section. Why further burden accommodation businesses that are already well regulated? Already some self catering properties are being sold due to the downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic....now the costs associated and now the costs associated with these impending measures and regulations will be the final demise of many small such accommodation providers. • To implement any additional measures and regulations at this time,in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic, even up to 2023 for existing businesses,(as the suggested text states)could not be worse timing in an already fragile Scottish Tourism Industry. Tourist businesses in all sectors are on their knees even being in receipt of Government support. It will take several years for tourism to recover from the Covid-19 Pandemic. Indications are that Self- catering, in particular is going to be the most poular regarding guests' safety and social distancing. Even after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted as visitor trends are changing towards peoples' desire to have unique, authentic personal experiences,(often in more remote, rural places) as opposed to large group travel or accommodation. Visitors are appreciating the more limited, but personal contact and approach with a self catering proprietor. This trend is endorsed by VisitScotland. • previous regulations regarding long-term letting has already had a detrimental effect on self-catering businesses and accommodation providers in general. The new letting regulations have done away with short term tenancy. Before accommodation providers could extend their season by taking in Winter lets. Now this is not possible for fear of potentially not being able to vacate any tenant from their own property. • If these additional measures now proposed are superimposed upon this already devastating tenancy law will leave many properties lying empty over the winter months and many small businesses will close. • there are new fire and safety regulations coming into force in the very near future which will necessitate investment for each accommodation provider. although these measures are extremely sensible the combination of all of the above is devastating to many accommodation providers who are barely surviving financially due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Finally all we would ask that there are conversations with the people involved in this sector....these measures are not rushed through,but rather thought through carefully within the context of the bigger PCovid-19 economic picture...... not imposed on many Covid-19 wearied self employed small Scottish Tourist businesses.

There has to be a vision of Scottish Tourism that values the small peripheral and rural accommodation providers who so often offer the very base that visitors return to year after year because of the unique Scottish Hospitality offered.

Submission by Wendy Hebard

As an Edinburgh resident I wish to object to several measures within the proposed regulations. I stay in a balcony block, one of the first two blocks of public housing built by the city in 1900 in the heart of the Old Town. Of the 50 houses, many were sold under Right to Buy and some have subsequently become short-term holiday lets because of their central location and high quality. This has seriously impacted on the many on waiting lists for rented housing or those seeking affordable housing to buy. It has deprived us of neighbours and subjected us to an ever-changing stream of new occupants and people servicing the properties, threatening our security and during the time of COVID, endangering our health. The announcement by the Council in 2017 that they were going to introduce a licensing system for holiday lets and the subsequent support for this by the Government were very welcome. The latest changes to the proposals as outlined in the draft regulations are very unwelcome to myself and my neighbours, as well as to other Old Town residents. 1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? The blanket ban across Scotland on the implementation of licensing systems until 2023 is totally unacceptable. Each authority should be free to choose its own date, as with designating 'control areas'. In Edinburgh a licensing system based on planning controls is urgently needed to stop the haemorrhaging of our precious housing stock to short-term lets and the continuing problems caused by the use of domestic property as quasi hotel accommodation. Until Edinburgh has a fully operational planning-based licensing system for short- term lets and has eradicated the illegal operators, it will not be a level playing field for the local residents or for the City. A licensing system will not damage the economy post-COVID or in the longer term, it should benefit the hotels, the guest houses and the B&Bs, all of which will be struggling to recover for some time into the future. 2. Has the Scottish Government defined short-term lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? The definition of short-term lets is fine but the inclusion of B&Bs in the provisions outlined is misguided and clearly unacceptable to those involved. As residents, we have always supported the B&B businesses and recognised that the growth of the short-term lets were undermining them. B&Bs create jobs for local residents, enable visitors to meet local people and make money for the local economy; short-term lets do not, as many owners live elsewhere taking their profits with them. B&Bs need regulating for the safety and protection of those who use them but not through this legislation. 3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? This may well be a problem for smaller authorities but in Edinburgh, this should not be the case, provided that the licence applicants and licence holders are charged reasonable fees. The money to be made from this kind of business is substantial, as can be learned by looking on online sites at overnight charges for this kind of accommodation. The impact of COVID was felt less by many of these businesses, as they were permitted to reopen in July 2020 and were able to benefit from the resurgence of tourism over the summer months. These objections are much more fully argued and represented in the well-researched objection lodged by PLACE Edinburgh. I fully support their submission.

Submission by Linda Hojlund

These new regulations are a disaster for small businesses like mine, with only one room for B&B, and spell the end for us. The fees involved and new requirements will make it totally unfeasible and unviable for us to continue.

In response to the questions:

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? No - Trying to fix a problem mostly localised to big cities with regulations for the whole of Scotland does not strike the correct balance. Adding additional fees and regulations do not help promoting tourism and local economies. And with the devastating economic effect of the pandemic, this is not the time to introduce new regulations. Accommodation providers like mine have been closed for a year now.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No - B&B’s shouldn’t be included, many with only 1-3 rooms.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? Not now, with resources and budgets already stretched to the limit due to COVID-19. It will put a strain on administrative tasks, dealing with a new scheme.

The new regulations should be postponed and B&B’s excluded. Submission by Glenn Screeton In response to the “B&B Sector on the Scottish Government’s Short-Term Let Regulations”/ Planning control for short-term lets in Scotland . As a small b+b in the Lochalsh area I am finding the proposals beyond belief ,and after the ASSC / industry surveys ,opinion and advice has seemingly been ignored by the people responsible for this proposal. One point is one survey shows 49% would leave, or should we say forced to leave the industry , in the main due to the heavy handed and unnecessary hammer blow and licensing conditions , relating to planning permission , a list requirements that would cause almost any householder to feel severe financial despair or ruin let alone struggling tiny business. Most of them falling through the ‘cracks’ in financial help given during Covid too as for one example “no business account or no business rates = no help “ dealt to myself and fellow traders . Perfect timing to implement ill thought devastating ‘legislation.’ How were the b+b’s included in this ill thought idea (in a underhand way only giving 4 weeks to discuss this against government policy too, the b+b situation seems a very dubious add on? ) . These proposals must be reconsidered , postponed or as one agency asked for was registration scheme with some of the proposals included but not ones that are inline with a £500k turnover set up ! T Most of us in the area are already providing safe , clean environments with respect to local community , fire, water, electrical safety , insurance , paying the relevant taxes , not to forget the huge burden Covid caused , then harsh regulations brought in for seemingly no reason whatsoever , for example : A 4 bed house can now only let out 2 rooms , so a 3 bed only one room ? Why , of course I am not suggesting over capacity but I personally have easily without any pressure within or outside the b+b let a largish 3 bed semi can quite easily hold 3 – 5 people in 3 bedrooms , as I do already, but seemingly not now under these harsh unnecessary rules , my income will be halved then twinned with the extra legislation and requirements this will put me out of business , ruin my retirement which seems a little harsh after paying in for 40 years to be ruined by my own government , I will have to sell my home and move or work until I’m in my 80’s ! Also , the already heavy burdens of 20% paid to the booking agencies , extra covid equipment and cleaning , laundry , income tax , toiletries and extras it was barely worthwhile with 2 rooms let alone one , stood empty all year because apparently now 3 bed houses can’t cope with a maximum of 5 ?

The above is tiny part of the problem, we now have curfews and departing regulations, meeting some extreme repair standards where we were once excluded , EPC to be added , more permissions needed to alter anything , planning permission needed for a 2 bed b+b ?!? Then the controlled planning areas which could mean getting a licence refused . Also with the axe hanging over us at licence time what or how can we engage in bookings, or contractual agreements with providers when we maybe refused a licence on perhaps an overwhelmed council failing to provide or I need to spend £50k on insulating my house to go from band c-a on EPC scale , for what real impact surely EVERY home should be have this regime .. These proposals will completely and utterly devastate this industry , particularly in the remote, fragile micro industry area of Skye, Lochalsh and surrounding areas . The revenue the state will loose will also be clearly eye watering . Can the relevant parties not see this , particularly our MSP Kate Forbes , whom I have sent this to also with a hope she will lobby on our behalf for her constituents ? It needs to be pointed out also that this is not Edinburgh where some amateur’s have ruined the reputation of the industry and now a one shoe fits all approach is being handed out to these areas with the underlying wording of the proposal is when it is passed the financial disaster, bureaucracy , forced unemployment to mention a few will be left to the council , whom are struggling already and surprising the industry is too after the covid devastation with little hope in the future . When the b+b’s have been decimated by these proposals there will be only one option of tourists staying here - with the huge hotel chains and clearly as the only realistic option left their prices will be hiked until people no longer want or can afford to visit this area – look to Cornwall as an example of this type of scheme not working and many other areas throughout the world . We need a FARE registration scheme not a brutal , devastating hammer blow – we are not multi million pound hotel chains – or perhaps this is the point , when they dominate the market sector their greed as shown in many places (£400+ per night when Skye was busy 2019) it will simply destroy a lot of reasons why people come here . Not to mention the huge film industry interest , internet world acclaim of our area has brought, NC 500 and a larger interest in the WHOLE of Scotland , destroying our b+b’s and smaller accommodation providers will have a huge knock on effect with the Highlands for some being the cherry on the cake of their visit but sadly no accommodation (it was struggling in the recent years with tourists sleeping in community halls and their cars ), affordable , maybe a £500 a night a the new Isle of Skye Trump Towers seems a fitting solution ? It really feels like this is a deliberate act to destroy this industry and urge the people in a position to rethink this, to please find your conscience and stop this destruction of hard working peoples livelihoods and lives , many people over some generations have provided unique and wonderful opportunities for tourists and now it is proposed we basically destroy it all. Finally , I have never felt the need to write to my MSP or a committee in government but myself and many others are reeling from this proposal which will simply end our businesses , probably needing to leave our homes and an area we love and respect, Submission by Craig Whittaker My wife and I run a Guest House on Mull and we have been asked to pass on our comments regarding this proposed legislation but it is not clear to me that it will affect us. Under the Excluded Properties are Guest Houses amongst many others. Let me be clear: If this legislation does not affect our business then I have no comment.

If it does, as I am being told, and we would be forced to pay for yet another licence to operate then that would be beyond ridiculous. A Hotel Tax I think we would call it, as I am sure the press would, and it would create havoc within the tourist industry. A few more pennies out of my pocket. Scotland = The High Tax Economy. Should put that on the IndyRef posters.

Submission by Michael Brander

I write with respect to the above proposals. With respect to the three questions posed by the Committee, I comment specifically as follows: 1. I do not believe the proposed changes struck the correct balance between protecting the long term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies. To the contrary, I believe they will have a seriously damaging effect on the short term tenancy sector in rural Scotland. I understand they are an attempt to address a problem that, in practice, appears to be largely confined to the specialist Edinburgh market. The issue could surely be dealt with in a more focused and appropriate manner by means of more targeted and localised legislation. 2. My only issue with the definition of short term lets is that this may cause problems in some rural situations where specialised or short term workers are required for particular purposes, often over more than one holding. I leave it to others more experienced than I to comment in detail. 3. I have no expertise on the resources of local authorities but, in my recent contacts with local authority employees, more than one has commented on how their workload has grown in line with new legislation but without additional resources. They have expressed doubts about their ability to continue to address the necessary attention to their core functions.

When I arrived 17 years ago, the Estate was dominated by its agricultural interests with an in hand farming operation and three let farms. The housing stock consisted of some 35 cottages and small houses. Two of these were up to reasonably modern standard. The remainder varied from derelict to habitable but barely meeting standards, to derelict. The quality of the housing stock was reflected in the occupancy profile, ranging from occasional vacation use, through elderly long term residents, to DHSS tenants.

Submission by Suzie Burt

On behalf of our own business and all other B&Bs in Scotland I would submit the following comments:-

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? • No – the proposed changes fall far short of striking the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies. • No – a licensing system is a blunt tool to fix a perceived and localised problem of amateur online platform operators in Edinburgh, rather than being a solution that is appropriate for the whole of the Scotland, nor is it one that makes a necessary distinction between different types of visitor accommodation providers. • No – now is not the time to introduce these regulations given the impact of Covid- 19 on the Scottish tourism sector. Instead, as requested by tourism and business stakeholders, the Scottish Government should postpone their regulations in order to give the industry time to recover from the devastating effect of the pandemic. • The prioritisation of this issue during a global pandemic, when related pieces of legislation such as the transient visitor levy have been dropped, and when many in the tourism industry are struggling for survival, needs to be seriously questioned. 2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? • No – B&Bs should not be captured by the regulations and this could have been addressed by proper consultation with industry. This unintended consequence is as a result of the truncated nature of the consultation process, the rushed timeline from the Scottish Government to fulfil a political objective, and the failure to properly assess the consequences of the regulations. 3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? • No – as detailed by the local authority responses to the consultation, many local councils are concerned about the resource implications of the regulations at a time when their budgets are already stretched, as well as the administrative burden and the lack of specific Scottish Government funding for set-up costs. https://www.assc.co.uk/local-authority-responses-to-the-scottish- government-stl-consultation/ • Additional burdens will be placed on local authority planning and licensing teams to manage the requirements of a new scheme at a time when they can least afford it – despite claims that councils will be able to recoup this later down the line through fees. A proper impact assessment of the costs is required and it underlines the case that a postponement of the regulations is desirable.

Submission by Dickins Edinburgh Ltd

My response to each of the three questions being asked by the Committee is no. I am sitting here at my desk at home on 22nd January 2021, in lockdown with no current end in sight and therefore with tourism and self catering businesses across the land on their knees. I’ve read all the submissions to this committee including those from the ASSC. The issues raised with this legislation are so serious, so impactful, so littered with unintended consequences, so damaging to thousands of small businesses and ultimately so damaging to Scotland and its reputation for welcome to the world. If it is not delayed, or significantly amended, then it will be clear that something altogether more sinister is behind these changes. How this implementation is being pushed through at this moment in time, with COVID 19 wrecking so many aspects of life especially in tourism, raises very significant concerns about the true motives of the Scottish Government.

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

No, they don’t strike a balance at all. In fact, they will do the very opposite. They will harm the long term sustainability of local communities in many areas as well as decimating tourism and killing local economies. The very concept of asking this question with no sense of irony, based on these proposals shows that there is a complete lack of understanding of the likely real world impact of this ill-conceived legislation and therefore a complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the industry which you’ve supposedly tried to understand. That lack of understanding and sense of bias becomes clearer when you realise that the 2019 consultation consulted with 592 affected residents, 63 community organisations, Airbnb hosts and just 5 professional self-catering operators. I understand from other submissions, that the geographical spread of the consultation was heavily skewed to areas with perceived problems and huge tracts of rural Scotland was ignored all together. So, it looks like you’ve never tried to really understand this vital industry at all.

Often in Scotland, especially in more remote areas, the long term sustainability and employment of local communities relies on tourism. It’s mentioned time and time again in these submissions. In these remote areas tourists mostly choose self catering. And that provides income for owners, for cleaners, tradespeople etc. which is mostly spent in the local economy. And the visitors spend their money in the local economy too. In shops, restaurants, cafes, attractions etc. The ASSC survey in 2020, which asked owners if they’d continue to trade if this legislation passes, 49% said they would not. 49%. Half the businesses will close. That statistic alone should be enough to make this committee sit back and think that there needs to be a significant rethink.

Scotland is wildly beautiful and much loved. But there are so many other choices of where to holiday in the world. Scotland isn’t the easiest place in the world to get too and once you’re here, you need to travel long distances and spend time to reach remote locations. Self catering is vital as often the range of catering available locally is often minimal. If the choice of where to stay is significantly reduced, if cafes and shops and restaurants close too, because their business is no longer viable, will Scotland be where people want to holiday? I doubt it. I’m sure the tourist bodies across the rest of the UK must be looking aghast at The Scottish Government’s plans for its tourism industry via this legislation. They will all also know that they will benefit to our detriment if this terrible legislation passes.

My business and the homes I look after are here in Edinburgh. I’ve run my business for 23 years. We have always sought to do what we do very well, being mindful of neighbours and our wider community. We haven’t gone down the route of sofa beds, lock boxes and very short stays. It is possible to run a business this way. And yet I’ll be caught in the crossfire of this legislation. Truly professional businesses like Dickins, should, you would hope, be celebrated as an example of how to operate. This industry is safe in the hands of professionals like me across Scotland.

The issue seems to be with mostly Edinburgh amateur Airbnb hosts whose only driver is profit. So, please follow the ASSC suggestion and give grandfather rights to agents and operators who have a proven track record of doing this job well. Use existing anti social behaviour and health and safety legislation target the actual problem instead of causing such enormous economic harm across Scotland.

The fact that COVID 19 wasn’t mentioned in the 2020 consultation is just incredible. And the Scottish Government’s lack of grants during the Covid crisis exposes their attitude to the self catering industry which in normal times contributes £723 million to the Scottish economy.

In Q3 of 2020 it was taking longer to let homes in Edinburgh on a long term basis than at any time since 2016 according to Citylets quarterly report. So, properties available in Edinburgh for long term letting aren’t letting quickly, there is more supply than demand and rentals have dropped. This is a quote from that report.

That said, the supply demand imbalance has caused downward pressure on rents across the city as landlords needed to adjust expectations to generate an income and reduce further void periods.

So, if there’s an oversupply of homes to rent long term in the city at the moment, there is no issue with lack of housing provision. What’s going to happen if Edinburgh Council bans holiday letting in every stairwell?

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

No, not at all. It appears that [redacted] didn’t realise that the legislation had been written in such a way as to mean B&B’s were also going to be impacted. They were not included in the consultation and given the impact on them too, that’s appalling.

Dickins organises many mid term rentals – to corporate clients, people relocating to Edinburgh whilst they find long term accommodation, academics visiting from overseas, local families having refurbishment work done, local families with insurance claims on their own homes etc. All these are completely legitimate reasons for people to need to rent a fully furnished, serviced and equipped quality home on a temporary basis. They cannot do that with a long term let. They don’t want to stay in a hotel and cannot afford/don’t want serviced accommodation. One of the reasons that Dickins never received complaints from neighbours is that our guests are often staying for longer periods. But in the latest consultation, what we do is described as a terrible loop hole that needs to be regulated. This means that Dickins looking after the German Consul and his wife for several week whilst they look for a permanent home in the city is considered to be requiring the same regulation as renting a flat to a bunch of partying teenagers for a night. It’s insane.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

From what I’ve read in the submissions from people who know much more about this than me, the answer is definitely not.

Research carried out by the RTPI in connection with the implementation of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 estimated the costs of a planning authority designating all or part of its area as a short-term let control area between £640,710 (lower estimate) and £14,756,800 (higher estimate) It does not appear that additional funds will be available for planning authorities to carry out the necessary work.

Local authority responses quoted in Appendix 4 of the ASSC submission show that many are concerned about the interplay of a new licensing regime during a period in which their resources are stretched due to Covid-19. These concerns appear to have been ignored.

Edinburgh politicians I’ve spoken to about this legislation, had no idea that Edinburgh Council are routinely refusing licenses for all properties within stairwells. They thought that licenses were being granted. But that’s not the case. And it’s obviously one of the things that makes me, as an Edinburgh operator, very concerned. Because there’s a clear bias against certain types of property by Edinburgh Council. Concerns have been raised in submissions about the wait to find out of your application has been successful. With HMO licenses in Edinburgh, as long as you fulfil the license criteria, it will be granted, but there is no such clarity in Edinburgh with this proposed legislation. It’s a very significant concern. The idea that Edinburgh Council would have new powers is frankly terrifying. Their level of expertise seems to be so frequently lacking.

It's also a very strange question. What does success mean in this context? It has been said that the main reason for this legislation being required is for health and safety. But there have been no studies carried out to understand if self catering units have up to date health and safety measures in place or not. So how on earth can you make that claim, when there is no evidence one way or the other?

In summary, given the weight of argument against this legislation in its current form, the timing of continued Covid 19 and no sense of how/when our industry will be able to recover, if the Local Government and Communities Committee do not sit up, take note and realise that significant changes need to be made in order to avoid catastrophe, something is very, very wrong.

Submission by Glen and Suzanne Wilson

We are members of Scotland’s Best B&Bs hospitality organisation. On 6 January 2021 our group was informed by our fellow trade body, the Association of Scotland’s Self- Caterers, that the STL legislation was now to include Bed and Breakfast businesses in any licensing scheme adopted.

This has come as extremely alarming and surprising news, especially as we believed that the proposals were not to apply to small B&B establishments. Surely, this is an unintended consequence of the proposed legislation?

• Bed and breakfast rooms should not be defined as Short Term Let accommodation. B&Bs have never been part of the problem which this legislation is supposed to address. We fully agree that areas with high concentrations of uncontrolled short term let properties, such as Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye, require some form of regulation. However, the licensing scheme as designed is a catch-all solution – a very blunt instrument. It will inevitably have a detrimental effect on bona fide small B&Bs who already comply with existing legislation. • A better solution would be to adopt a more targeted approach. Grant discretionary powers to Local Authorities in those areas where there is a genuine problem with over saturation of short term lets. • There has been no consultation with the Scottish Bed and Breakfast sector regarding this proposal. This is totally unacceptable given that it could be introduced in April this year if approved by Parliament. • There is no Business Regulatory Impact Assessment because there has been no consultation with our sector. • The majority of B&Bs and self-catering operators in Scotland are small professional businesses already adhering to the relevant legislation covering the hospitality sector, such as fire regulations, public liability insurance etc. The proposed licensing scheme will impose upon them another layer of expensive and unnecessary bureaucracy. Many, especially those who trade under the VAT threshold, will be forced to consider closure as their businesses will no longer be economically viable. • The timing of the STL proposals could not be worse. We are still in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic and currently in a national lock down. The hospitality sector has been particularly hard hit by the virus. It is guaranteed that some businesses will never recover from this crisis.

In summary, we find it incredibly disappointing that the Scottish Government is pressing for this legislation in an economic climate of deep uncertainty and genuine anxiety for small business operators.

Submission by Donryn Dewar

I wish to submit the following as requested

1. Impact on Business Our STL business has been decimated by COVID-19 and has prompted a decision to close one of our properties and revert to long term residential. Our market is 60% foreign visitors (we are rural) and to assume that our business will recover this year as the vaccine programme rolls out is not reflected in the comments, we are getting from foreign tourists enquiring not for season 2021 but for season 2022 in terms of our cancellation policy. In the first year of business recovery to start the licensing scheme and the costs associated with this will be detrimental to recovery. We had a programme of some off grid hutting experiences which we have now put on hold pending this legislation since unconventional housing has been included. The potential cost barriers with EPC regulations, repairing standards and licensing means that we will no longer be looking to expand in the tourism accommodation sector until we are clear exactly what the cost impacts are. The repairing standards are not fit for purpose for an off-grid hut.

I accept that health and safety in STL should not be compromised but the landlord registration (a relatively cheap) solution already exists and would have far less financial impact on our business. With the ability to exclude seasonal huts etc from this where the off grid nature of the accommodation makes it impossible to meet the conventional repairing standard.

There are further cost implications for VAT registered businesses who have setup in the last 3 years. Where Planning permission is not granted, they will have the costs of VAT to repay and lose significant business investment in setting up an STL. The VAT regulations require that you trade for 3 years in order the to reclaim the VAT (which will already have been reclaimed at the start and therefor require repayment). An exemption must be made under these rules where the law requires you to trade but the law then denies you the ability to do so.

This legislation is premature given the impact of COVID-19. i) Will city centre housing be as sort after over the next few years given the move to working from home and decentralising businesses caused by the pandemic? ii) The government has done no impact assessment on our businesses since the pandemic to understand if the legislation is still fit for purpose. In city centres which have driven this legislation – has any assessment been done on the number of STL’s still trading? How many properties have been returned to long term lets (now governed by the indefinite leave to remain under PRT – limiting the landlord’s ability to return it to an STL). How many landlords have sold up and completely exited the market? I request that a more cautious approach is taken to the tourist accommodation sector and ask for a pause in decision making until the post COVID-19 landscape becomes clear rather than forcing through legislation based on a pre pandemic landscape. For example: it is unlikely the Edinburgh market is likely to pick up for 2 years (since March 2020). How many businesses will survive this? Would it therefore not be fairer to look at new entrants in terms of planning etc. Costs of Planning and the Process Planning costs (and process) are a major concern for me based on my experience with a recent long term let. An Example: An old redundant rural building was given on a lifetime basis to a local resident to renovate and live in until he died at which point it would return to us. He got planning permission and started limited work but ran out of money. It took 10 years to get the property back (in worse condition than it went out as he took the roof off). We recently applied for planning to restart the project. It took 2 years and £8976 just to get the permissions for a house build already started again (payment of transport supplements, surveys to prove the land wasn’t contaminated etc). While I understand planning timescales exist it appears the planning department have the ability to ‘stop their own clock’ hence the delays. I believe many good legitimate businesses will suffer having to reapply for planning (not to mention the cost of obtaining drawings etc). Radical reform is needed in the planning department first. I would also query their capacity given my last experience in how long it takes anyone to get back to you.in terms of response times. 2. Lack of Fairness: We have invested heavily in our business and been trading for years (but not 10 years). We have never had an antisocial behaviour issue or even a complaint (we offer our accommodation at discounts for the locals – and it has been taken up e.g. if their family or friends come to visit). We also employ locals. This entire livelihood, significant investment and responsible approach to our STL can be erased by a single individual in planning without any ability to prove we are responsible operators operating without issue (and with neighbourhood support). I have no issue with losing a license if we are not responsible, I have a significant issue with losing an existing business with significant investment based on a decision by planning for which we have no right of appeal. Nobody starts the investment of building a house before they have planning. We have made significant investment which we may now lose as a result of a ‘retrospective’ planning requirement. It is the removal of freedom to trade without reasonable notice.

3. Application of Licensing to Unconventional Buildings There is a lack of understanding for what constitutes an unconventional property in terms of proposed STL licensing. It is impossible to apply repairing standards and EPC regulations to examples such as huts open for the summer only (where fulltime heating is not required), or off-grid housing. The consultation argument that it will simply grow the sector to avoid licensing legislation is flawed. Quirky, off grid lets and huts are unlikely to occur in city centres where buildings are by their construction nature ‘conventional’. It is simple to exclude these ‘unconventional structures’ using a simple definition of build structure. The supply of unconventional lets will be driven by demand and there is a limited market for hutting and off-grid quirky style housing. By nature, much of this market is seasonal and thereby less profitable. Licensing costs make no cost allowance for your trading period (income potential). It is not possible to make these structures perform like conventional housing stock and it is more likely this side of tourism (which does not divert housing stock that can be used for long term rentals away from this mark) will shrink in the tourism sector. This adds the risk that this accommodation sector will boom in England over Scotland where the barrier costs to entry are lower.

4. All cases not considered We have one let where we use the property ourselves but let it out for 50% of the time. If we do not get a license (unlikely as it is in Edinburgh) then the property will sit empty when not in use. I am aware of a number of people in a similar position who commute into town for work but may sublet outside of that to cover costs. It is unlikely these flats will get a license in Edinburgh/Glasgow even if they can demonstrate they have never had an issue.

Submission by The Small Isles Community Council

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? · The proposed changes are expected to be carried out throughout Scotland and affect all short term regardless of size and location.

· Although the Small Isles CC welcomes the safety standards of the short-term lets regulation, and agrees that the needs and concerns of communities must be taken into account together with wider economic and tourism interests, there is a strong concern that where islands are concerned, the study commissioned by the Scottish Government only considered zones where there is maximum tourist pressure, such as the Isle of Skye.

· The islands of Eigg, Muck, Rum, and Canna are located in the same Local Authority area as Skye, as is also Raasay , and their situation is in no way is comparable to the situation on Skye.

· Since it is The Town and Country (Short terms Lets Control areas) (Scotland) regulations 2021 which regulates how the control areas will be set up for the Short lets legislation, we are concerned that we do not know the criteria which will set whether the Small Isles would be excluded or included in the control areas. There seems to be a clear need for such rules to be island proofed so that the smaller islands, which do not experience the same problems as Skye, are not penalised in the process.

· Tourism is an important and integral part of the Small Isles economy. Setting up barriers is not helping fragile communities with small population numbers, already made more vulnerable by the covid crisis and in need of a fast recovery. 2/ Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

· No: the definition of short lets is too broad and based on a one size fits all criteria.

· There is some frustration that the consultation period on this was shortened to 5 weeks instead of 12, and the implementation appears rushed. It was difficult for the Small Islands short let premises owners to reply as fully as they would have liked. The Small Isles tourism related businesses are small businesses that are not part of any big tourism networks and there is a real concern that their voice has not been heard.

· Whilst we all agree that safety standards have to be met, there are concerns that a lot of properties in the Small Isles which are let out on a short let basis, are old, traditional cottages, or stone bothies, wooden pods or huts that will struggle to meet some of the licence requirements (Energy certificate) . These short lets are only used in the summer months and bringing them up to modern energy standards would be difficult without changing their character, and a level of investment might be required that some hosts won't necessarily be able to afford. In the case of bothies, pods and and yurts, it hard to see why an energy certificate is required at all.

· In one case in the Small Isles, the B&B is owned by the National Trust for Scotland who, as the owner is responsible for upgrading of the property which is let under the condition that it will operate as B& B. How does this case fit in the list of short lets categorised in the legislation?

· In the case of the small or micro–operator, there is a real worry that the one size fits all approach to the licensing requirement will cause some of these businesses to shut down and this will have an impact on the availability of low budget choice in an area where they have been a good source of secondary income for owners, and a good fit for the existing customer base. This in turn would have an impact on all the other island businesses who depend on visitor numbers for their income (tearooms, shops, outdoor sports/activity businesses). · Flexibility could make all the difference for the sustainability of island life, when tourism is one of the main income generator for islanders, who are already in a lower income bracket and are affected by the islands’ higher cost of living. The legislation mentions an evidence-informed approach for the regulation of STLs, and ICIAs could provide the evidence needed.

3/ Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?.

• The response from Highland Council clearly shows the local authority concerns about the resources needed in terms of investment and administration to run the licensing scheme, especially in the selected control area, without a contribution to the set up costs. • When businesses in the Small Isles area are already regularly experiencing delays in accessing inspections to satisfy current planning requirements, (water, gas etc), it is difficult to see how they can trust an already overburdened system to deliver the licensing certificates which are necessary before the business can even start trading! • Is the 2 year period which has been allowed in recognition of the burdensome requirements for the scheme enough for the rolling out of the scheme given the extra pressure caused by the Covid Crisis?

We strongly believe the scheme be rolled out as a pilot in the areas of pressure that have been highlighted, before it becomes universal, a point also made by the Licensing Law Committee of the Law Society of Scotland who emphasised the importance of piloting the new licensing scheme ahead of implementing the new powers. This would allow time for assessment and review in accordance to the evidence-informed approach which the legislation says it is based on.

Submission by Lachlan and Etta Maclean

I wish to raise my concerns about the new proposed regulations to hospitality sector. My wife and I established our self catering business on our Croft in Inverinate in 1993 with grant assistance from the Rural Enterprise Programe, Initially one property was built followed by two more a few years later and is now a well established business which we very much enjoy operating. Covid of course has caused problems but with grant assistance from the Scottish Government this has been a great help The proposed licensing scheme which we believe is being considered would present our little business with considerable difficulty especially at this time. We hope therefore that this scheme is not enforced

Submission by Kingussie Business Forum

In response to the three questions:

2. Has the Scottish Government defined short-term lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

NO. Until only a few days ago, B&Bs were unaware the proposal included this category and were overwhelmingly under-represented in the Consultation.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

NO. Local authorities are already overburdened and have raised their concerns at the Consultation of the cost implications requiring additional staff in Planning, Licensing and carrying out inspections.

The following points further clarify why the SSIs should be rejected:

• The B&B sector were grossly under-represented in the Consultation, with just 3.03% Hotels/B&Bs of the 1086 responses. The fact that representation of B&Bs are included with Hotels (exempt) and not together with Hosts (short term let), is evident that it was not the intention to include B&B businesses in the SSIs. B&Bs have been swept along and inadvertently included when the category, like Hotels and Guest Houses should be exempt.

• Many bonefide B&B businesses are already adhering to the relevant legislation covering the hospitality sector, such as fire regulations, public liability insurance etc. and already have accreditation to well established tourism organisations such as Visit Scotland.

• The BRIA (Business & Regulatory Impact Assessments) was finally carried out without fair representation of the B&B sector. The assessment time and again differentiates between Short Term Let accommodation and B&Bs in its wording. It is clear in this representation that B&Bs are NOT intended for inclusion in the proposed License and have erroneously been omitted in the Exempt category to be included with Guest Houses. B&Bs are synonymous with Guest Houses and never a Short- term let.

• This at a time when my business has been unable to operate to any degree due to the pandemic since early 2020 and continues. The recovery for the loss of income will take many financial years if ever, for businesses to recoup. The financial burden to gain a Licence, possible planning permission and meet the mandatory criteria is impossible to comprehend, at a time when the Pandemic is as robust as it was in March 2020, particularly when many already pay for registration, inspection and grading through Visit Scotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme.

• The BRIA states ‘it is expected that the hosts will absorb some of the costs’. And yet to administer, Local authorities are expected to recoup all costs from License income. This is the wrong Licence to enforce on B&B establishments and most certainly at the wrong time. We know that you are only too aware that the hospitality sector has been particularly hard hit by the financial impacts of the virus. It is guaranteed that some businesses will never recover from this crisis. It is incomprehensible the Scottish Government is pressing for this legislation to be rushed through Parliament in an economic climate of deep uncertainty and genuine anxiety for small business operators.

May we ask emphatically, that these Regulations are REJECTED.

Submission by Clare Winskill

I write this in my personal capacity although my knowledge and experience are informed by my roles as a director of the DMO for Skye, SkyeConnect CIC and as a director of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers .

I fully support and endorse the written evidence submitted by the ASSC to the Committee. The written evidence below is submitted in support of the ASSC’s written evidence and with that evidence as significant background to this submission.

The Licensing Scheme proposed by the Housing Minister, Kevin Stewart MSP is incompetent and assaults tourism micro businesses in a manner that will lead to many ceasing to operate. The draft legislation threatens the tourism economic recovery on Skye and throughout the Highlands and overturns any benefit from Scottish Government and UK Government coronavirus funding support that seeks to prevent structural scarring of the tourism economy. The draft legislation should be annulled by the Committee. The Scottish Government should return to a real and informed dialogue with the tourism industry to replace the Licensing scheme with a balanced registration system for holiday lets in Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee has asked for evidence in response to the questions below:

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? 2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? 3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

There is no empirical evidence to answer this question. The Scottish Government have not carried out a competent BRIA to answer this question. I have attached here Scottish Government guidance which states when a BRIA should take place prior to legislation and the reasons for a BRIA https://www.gov.scot/publications/bria- guidance. The quote below from this guidance puts the Scottish Government in some difficulty regarding self-catering accommodation (please see the ASSC’s detailed submissions on the point, truncated and inadequate consultation) and in a great deal of difficulty in relation to B&Bs. There has been a total lack of consultation and a total absence of a BRIA specifically in relation to the economic impact of the proposed legislation on B&Bs:

"All proposals which may have an impact upon business or the third sector should be accompanied by a BRIA. BRIAs should be completed for legislation and regulations (including voluntary regulation), as well as policy changes.

Consultation documents should be accompanied by partial BRIAs, which are designed to encourage comment by those the proposals affect. Once the consultation has been completed a final BRIA should be produced, building on the partial assessment and information gathered from the consultation analysis".

B&Bs were only aware of their inclusion as Short Term Lets affected by the Short Term Let Licensing Scheme after the relevant SSIs had been laid before the Scottish Parliament on 14 December 2020. Obviously there is now the potential for a legal challenge in the event that B&Bs are required to comply as Short Term Lets for the purposes of the proposed STL Licensing scheme

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart, in relation to the above question, states:

“Residents have expressed concern about the impact of short-term lets in their communities, including noise, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and a loss of residential housing stock. Our proposals to regulate short-term lets will ensure these properties adhere to a common set of safety standards to protect guests and neighbours. Many responsible hosts will already be following these safety standards – our proposals will help to ensure that all comply.

This is not true. For rural areas and Skye there are no issues with ‘noise, nuisance and anti-social behaviour’ in holiday lets. The Housing Minister has no evidence that self-caterers and B&Bs are depleting housing stock in rural areas. The Housing Minister has made an uninformed assumption that this is the case.

To explore the point. Wild media headlines have suggested that on Skye, “1 in 4 properties are AIrBnBs’. The Scottish Government have believed the wild headlines without examining the detail behind the headlines or understanding the properties concerned designation and purposes. Airbnb offer ‘hosts’ the opportunity to list their premises on multiple occasions, so one property may have five listings to encompass different variations in the listing of the same property. Furthermore these properties on Skye are commonly family homes, for local families living on Skye, and running a B&B to supplement income. Family homes that are Airbnbs are irrelevant as data for properties depriving local people of homes and yet they fall within the above statistic. So too, properties designed simply for self-catering, pods, static caravans etc - all Airbnbs. Without an adequate BRIA to cover this point the Housing Minister is making uninformed assumptions on an anecdotal basis.

Self-catering properties next. Self-catering properties are by their nature equipped to attract customers. For professional self-caterers (who make up the vast majority of the operators within the self-catering market) properties are subject to significant investment to make them luxurious to attract customers. This means that in the event the properties come on the market, they achieve a high market value. This market value is significantly outside the reach of first time buyers looking for affordable housing. In essence these properties are irrelevant as housing stock. They will only be available to buyers with ‘deep pockets’. They will not be available to first time buyers - even if the properties come on the market as a result of this ill considered proposed legislation.

So with the above in mind, what will be the result of the Housing Minister’s uninformed (no or inadequate BRIAs) and deeply misguided draft legislation? Self- caterers will, as the ASSC has confirmed, cease to function. Approximately half will put their properties back on the housing market and achieve market value (in the current climate there are city dwellers with cash who are anxious to escape cities and work remotely). The other half will abandon self-catering and just allow friends and family to use the accommodation. Small B&Bs and family run B&Bs faced with high overheads to fund the bureaucratic nightmare of complying with the mandatory conditions - will simply cease to operate.

The net effect? No increase in the housing stock available for local people. Possibly a further increase in property prices as wealthier purchasers compete for their desirable properties in the Highlands and particularly Skye to escape the cities post COVID. But most worrying of all - a significant decrease in visitors. In busy years and at high season accommodation on Skye can be difficult to find for holiday makers. With less accommodation available, visitors to Skye will be unable to stay in their luxury self-catering accommodation or their friendly family run B&B and pay to dine in restaurants, pay to take part in outdoor pursuits, pay to purchase in galleries and pay to travel around the island. The Moffat Report carried out to assess tourism economic impact for Skye in 2019 showed B&Bs. Guesthouses and self catering, accommodation turnover alone was £15M pa. The visitor spend for those staying in these accommodations on ancillary activities was £85M pa. This ludicrous legislation will significantly reduce that visitor spend, shrink an already COVID damaged tourism industry on Skye and make its population significantly less well paid and affluent. There will also be a ripple effect as services that support B&Bs and self- caterers, plumbers, electricians, construction etc will also find that demand for their services decreases. A shrinking tourism economy with no benefit of additional affordable housing stock will ensue. The polar opposite effect of that stated above by Kevin Stewart MSP.

I would suggest to the Housing Minister, that a housing shortage needs to be solved by a housing solution - a rapid build of hundreds of affordable homes on Skye. The assault on the tourism industry on Skye represented by this draft legislation will create considerable and additional imbalance in the communities here - simultaneously losing the economic benefit of tourism while failing to provide the affordable homes that are so desperately needed here.

2.Has the Scottish Government defined short term lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

B&Bs were clearly not intended to fall within the definition of a Short Term Let for the purposes of the SSI. Here is an account of how this became apparent:

On 14 December Fiona Campbell as CEO of the ASSC remotely met [redacted]: Chair of the Short-Term Let Delivery Group. Fiona Campbell asked [redacted] directly whether he was aware that B&Bs were included as Short-Term Lets within the SSI. [redacted] was not aware of the inclusion of B&Bs as Short-Term Lets at the time of that meeting.

The following is taken from the letter that Fiona Campbell ASSC CEO, sent to Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, on 21 December. In Fiona’s words, quoting [redacted]:

‘Your understanding is correct: home sharing is defined in the Licensing Order (sch 2 para 13) and includes bed and breakfast activity.

B&Bs are not listed as excluded accommodation at schedule 1. Guest houses are excluded (para 1(d) of sch 1). Change of use from a house (class 9 in the Use Classes Order) to a guest house (class 7) generally requires planning permission. So the exclusion applies to properties that have planning permission to operate as a guest house. A house (class 9) can be used to offer bed and breakfast without planning permission where no more than two bedrooms are used for this purpose or, in the case of premises having less than four bedrooms, only one bedroom is used for that purpose. A flat cannot generally be used to offer bed and breakfast without planning permission.

The use of houses (class 9) as B&Bs is a form of home sharing and we have always intended to include this activity within definition of short-term lets. Our 2019 consultation paper proposed excluding ‘licensed hotels and B&Bs and self-catering properties on their premises’. We have excluded (para 1(e) of sch 1) restaurants with rooms and inns, for example, where they are already licensed specifically to offer accommodation under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.”

No further explanation is required to answer Question 2 above. B&Bs find themselves in the invidious position of having been unintentionally included in onerous legislation that was never intended to affect them. The Delivery Group did not consult with the B&B sector, there was no BRIA for the B&B sector, and it is clear that [redacted] explanation is backtracking from a clear error in terms of the drafting of the SSI. His explanation is not convincing and is not in any way supported by the draft legislation. The SSI cannot be amended but should now be recommended for annulment before further damage is done to the B&B sector particularly on Skye and throughout the fragile economies of the Highlands and Islands.

In the Repairing Standard - Chapter 4, The Repairing standard, Landlord's duty to repair and maintain is excluded if “a tenancy of a house [which] does not exceed 31 days where the purpose of the tenancy is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the house for a holiday”. Compare this with The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2021 Schedule 3 Mandatory Licence Conditions “(2) Where the premises are subject to the requirements of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2016, the holder of the licence must ensure that the premises meet the repairing standard”. This is a deliberate extension to apply the Repairing Standard to B&Bs that were to date excluded from the Repairing Standard.

This last paragraph relating to the Repairing Standard gives a lie of course to the assertion of the Housing Minister as follows: “Many responsible hosts will already be following these safety standards – our proposals will help to ensure that all comply”. It is one example that shows this draft legislation is poorly drafted, uninformed and ill considered.

In short - this legislation is a mess. Incompetent, wrong in law and leading to huge costs, both in terms of potential litigation and administration. The Repairing Standard legislation clash is just one obvious example. I trust the Committee will be able to extrapolate the incompetence shown by the Delivery Group, the effect this will have as Councils endeavour to interpret the flawed draft legislation, and ultimately, most importantly of all the significant effect on stretched hard pressed self-caterers and B&Bs grappling with this incompetence and complying with onerous additional mandatory conditions on top of the COVID crisis. Words fail me.

3.Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

The answer is of course ‘no’. The draft legislation is so unclear in its terms and so overly onerous to micro businesses (particularly in rural areas) that the Councils will be unable to interpret their new powers and duties, both of which will require endless interpretation. Once in place, the potential for complaints and litigation to be pursued against Councils is boundless.

The ASSC in The Financial Impact of Short Term Let Licensing and Planning Controls on Scottish Local Authorities sets out the individual responses from Councils as they realise that, absent any additional funds in place from the Scottish Government, the task to set up and run this Licensing system will be impossible in the post COVID climate. Given the complexities of monitoring and enforcement set out in the draft legislation, it appears highly unlikely that Councils will be able to comply with the Scottish Government’s requirement that the Licensing Scheme is self-funding. The Councils will be faced with having to push tourism micro- businesses into becoming unable to meet their Licensing fees, and thus ceasing to operate, or going ‘cap in hand’ to a government that will undoubtedly have washed its hands of the mess and will refuse to grant additional funds to the Councils in order to both set up and run the Licensing scheme.

Conclusion

I repeat. A housing shortage needs to be solved by a housing solution - for Skye, a rapid build of hundreds of affordable homes. The assault on the tourism industry on Skye represented by this draft legislation will create considerable and additional imbalance in the communities here - simultaneously losing the economic benefit of tourism while failing to provide the affordable homes that are so desperately needed here.

As drafted and if it proceeds into law, the Licensing Scheme will generate significant amounts of work for lawyers and consultants for years to come. The cost to businesses and local authorities will be huge. Ultimately the scheme will fail - but only once it has dragged businesses and our fragile rural tourism economy down with it……

Submission by Neale and Linda Salisbury

We believe the Scottish Government needs to rethink the regulations which will effect small B&Bs which is class 9 in the use classes order, based on the following points;

• December 2020 ASSC received confirmation that home sharing included Bed and Breakfast activity • 20th January 2021 housing minister Kevin Stewart confirmed the use of houses class 9 in the the Use Classes Order as B&Bs will require a licence

• Scottish Government’s consultation was condensed to little more than four weeks - not Scottish Government’s best practice advice • No reference to the impact of Covid 19 on the small B&B Scottish sector particularly the Highlands • Lack of thorough BRIA to accompany consultation • Did the delivery group consult with the B&B sector, especially the smaller operators, which this greatly impacts

Personal Perspective

We are a small B&B We let two ensuite rooms We are on the NC500 route We are on the East Coast Our guests explore by car and foot, visit attractions and eat out at cafes and restaurants in a thirty mile radius, sometimes further afield

As a small business we do not have a business back account and chose to operate a dedicated personal account.

Due to COVID-19 we didn’t operate from April to October 2020 and possibly will not be allowed to operate for the bulk of the Highland tourism season this year.

As an accommodation provider we have previously complied with industry regulations and upgraded where required and are now being asked to apply for a license (at a cost) in order to continue to trade. Also we are being asked to meet a minimum EPC rating for our property of D or C. Our property is listed, circa 1780, and would require planning permission to do which would certainly be costly.

We would respectfully urge all members of Parliament to work together to ensure that this proposed legislation should not become law until a full BRIA has taken place and the small B&B sector been consulted.

For the future prosperity of the Highland and Islands area small B&Bs need to be part of the tourism experience. We do not by “nature” operate all year round as do those in large cities. We have not been fully supported during COVID-19 as have larger companies.

If we fail to thrive then the NC500 becomes a route for self contained camper van tourism who contribute less to the Highlands local economy!!

Submission by Stephen Hajducki

I strongly support Place's response.

I see no reason why the need for planning permission should be removed -- short- term letting is a commercial use like a hotel or guest house, and HMOs require consent, so it would be contrary to human rights legislation to treat these any differently.

Also, why should licensing be delayed until April 2023? This would allow dubious or illegal operators to continue -- in fact, it would make it worse because now they would assume that for the next two years they have immunity from any complaints, enforcement etc. and there would be no register for complainants to find out who runs the property. Where a local authority already has a tried-and-tested registration and licensing system for landlords in place (for instance, as here in Edinburgh) then it is a straightforward matter to simply extend its scope to include short term lets as well -- no additional structures or procedures are required.

If it forces some operators to convert or sell their properties for normal affordable occupation then that is surely a good thing -- it returns a sense of community to those areas such as Edinburgh's Old Town, and removes the distortion to the housing market and prices. Post-Covid there will be a serious shortage of affordable housing and such measures will assist.

The Scottish Government need to remember that one of the key principles of human rights legislation is the right of quiet enjoyment of one's life and home. Short Term lets often abuse that and the Government need to ensure that they are not leaving themselves open to challenge if they fail to address it.

Submission by Neil & Shirley Brenchley

1 I feel the proposed changes will hinder the long term sustainability of the Islands as local people will begin to stop trading in business and therefore the footfall to the Islands will disappear

2 The Government have not clearly defined the legislation on short lets and asking people to apply for Planning Permission is ridiculous. What has PP got to do with a B&B? Again more businesses including ours will close the doors immediately if this is called for.

3 I do not think Local council will have sufficient resources to apply these changes and monitor them. The whole thing about these small businesses is to promote and encourage visitors who bring much needed revenue to the Islands

Submission by Mull Community Council

We have been approached by a significant number of residents of Mull concerned about the viability of their businesses following their inclusion in the Short Term Let Regulations.

The timing of these Regulations, when hospitality is already deeply impacted by Covid- 19, is of concern. Yet if the SSI is approved by Committee and by Parliament later this month the Regulations will be brought into force in April 2021 and Argyll and Bute Council will have just twelve months to implement the new system.

First and foremost, there was no initial consultation with the B&B sector as to the likely impact on Mull’s small or micro businesses. The Scottish Government’s own guidelines to provide a three month consultation period to all affected by the proposed Regulations has not been met in this instance.

This new consultation process of less than four weeks duration asks the following questions:

Q: Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long term sustainability of communities and promoting tourism and a strong local economy.

A: Our Island B&B’s provide income and employment. Mull does not have a high number of hotel beds and the accommodation provided by the B&B’s is essential to keep the tourism economy going. They provide comfortable and affordable places for those who wish to visit us. These visitors are essential for our shops, pubs and restaurants. They house those who are embarking on boat trips and walking tours. If we lose our B&B accommodation then it will significantly impact the island’s economy.

The licensing system was initially proposed in response to unease by permanent residents to a significant number of Edinburgh tenements being rented out through the collaborative economy by amateur hosts. This proposed legislation is a blunt tool that does not make any distinction between the different types and standards of accommodation on offer.

The sector has been one of the hardest hit economically by Covid-19 and there is no route map nor indication as to when our businesses can reopen. Grant funding for B&B’s has been less than most other hospitality sectors and in some cases they have received no financial support to date.

With regard to long term sustainability of our community, polls undertaken by the Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers show that over 50% of self catering properties would be removed from the letting market but that the owners would retain the properties as second homes and for long periods these properties would remain empty. There would be no benefit to the community as income from visitors would be less and there would not be newly available housing stock, either by sale or long term let made available for full time residents. B&B owners have commented that they would remain in their properties but without having the benefit of a letting income or they would have to sell. Their properties tend to be larger and would be out of reach of young families or those on limited incomes.

Q: Has the Scottish Government defined Short Term Lets in a clear and correct way in the Legislation

A: The very fact that B&B providers were not consulted properly suggests that their inclusion in the proposed legislation was not considered by those drafting the SSI. Only after the drafts were laid down was this most recent consultation hastily opened.

Q: Will the Local Authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

A: The administrative and economic burden will fall to our already overstretched Council to set up a department, employ and train staff, find office space, arrange inspections over mainland and island communities and award licenses to those businesses who have managed to pay the significant costs of the inspection and license. These proposals add to an already overwhelming work load at a time when significant budget cuts are being made.

We therefore believe that this Statutory Instrument should be annulled before further and significant damage to our Island B&B’s who are already finding it hard to keep their businesses viable.

Submission by Eileen Armstrong

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

NO – although local Councils will determine the license charges, small one property businesses will struggle to pay fees if they will be around £2K per annum as suggested. That is around 15% of my income before tax. I believe the majority of accommodation providers in the rural areas are one property owners. I am in agreement with a license scheme in principle but suggest there should be a level of income eligibility on these recommendations. The income I receive from my self catering property enables me to maintain a reasonable standard of living without which I would need to apply for benefits.

The recommendations around floor coverings, entry/exit times are more targeted towards the Edinburgh accommodation providers which I recognise is a real problem. These certainly do not apply to Skye.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

Should include all accommodation providers including caravans, pods, buildings on wheels etc. Is there any merit in adding in extra eligibility criteria e.g. holiday home owners who do not reside in Scotland where perhaps additional higher charges could be applied.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

The Highland Council, I believe, do not currently have these. They currently are not able to fulfil the Environmental Health private water supply testing which is required for self catering properties. Additional funding for extra staff and IT systems would need to be provided.

Submission by Judith Bryant

1. In my opinion, the balance between long-term sustainability of local community and promoting tourism will be seriously damaged by these proposed changes. A large proportion of self catering property and B&B owners in the small villages on Scotland's West Coast will simply be unable to afford the cost of a hefty license. Our businesses would become unviable. This would result in the property market being flooded by houses for sale. Local people would be unlikely to afford such houses, especially if they lose their jobs, which are mostly dependent on tourism. There would also be a knock-on effect to the much-beleaguered hospitality sector. How can this be helpful to building a strong local economy? Finally on this point, there is a danger of more tourists taking to camper vans to explore the Highlands with a reduction of other places to stay. All the problems demonstrated in 2020 will be exacerbated.

2. I think the Government has allowed issues in Scotland's cities with Air BnB lettings to adopt a 'broad brush' approach to the rest of the Country, which needs to re-thinking. I find it hard to believe that the Government is proposing these changes at a time of such hardship for the tourism and hospitality sector.

3. I believe Highland Council are working at capacity with the services they deliver. Deploying staff from a cash strapped council to instigate a licensing scheme would be onerous and an inefficient use of public money in my opinion.

I hope my views will be taken into consideration at your forthcoming evidence session.

Submission by Visit Moray Speyside

We have engaged widely with our stakeholders, levy payers and wider tourism industry in Moray as regards the introduction of this legislation; the tourism industry in Moray is of the view that this legislation is not only ill-timed and ill-considered, it is disproportionate in that it seeks to impose a national answer to a ‘central belt’ problem which is barely evident here in Moray.

Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

No – the proposed changes miss the point at the very basest of levels. They are seeking to address a problem which simply does not exist in our area. A nationwide licensing system is a ‘blunt instrument’ approach to a localised problem of amateur operators in major cities, rather a solution which fits the whole of the Scotland. There is insufficient appreciation of or distinction between the many types of visitor accommodation providers.

How any sensible person could think it appropriate to introduce these regulations now is an absolute mystery – it is particularly concerning that other legislation (such as the transient visitor levy have been deferred) , and when many in the tourism industry are struggling for survival, needs to be seriously questioned. At the very least, the introduction of these regulations should be postponed until such time as the industry has had an opportunity to recover, at least to some extent, from the effect of COVID-19.

Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No – absolutely not. B&Bs should not be captured by the regulations – they are fundamentally different to short-term lets and operate completely differently. This is partly the result of the rushed and seemingly myopic way the ‘consultation’ was carried out, and partly due to the complete disregard which seems to have been paid to feedback received far and wide.

Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

No – here in Moray, our already stretched local authority is unlikely to be able to add yet another regulation and compliance burden to its already overflowing brief. The consultation itself highlighted that many local authorities are concerned about the resource implications of the regulations at a time when their budgets are already under severe and increasing pressure.

Moray has been one of the UK’s fastest growing tourism region’s over the past half dozen years, with economic impact reaching a record of £134.9M in 2019. The result of COVID-19 significant, and the years ahead will be about rebuilding and restoring our damaged industry – it should not be about watching previously viable businesses forced to close as a direct result of our own Government’s policies.

If introduced as it stands, this legislation will see the closure of many of the region’s B&Bs, Guest Houses and self-catering properties – significantly damaging Moray’s tourism industry at the point where it needs government support the most.

Submission by Julia & Matthew Reade

We would like to be consulted more before any legislation goes forward to the council, As it stands it is tricky for an island businesses to make a living on seasonal income, adding yet another cost will make it uneconomic for some of our properties ,

Especially if travel restrictions continue so I believe this licensing needs to be more flexible as one size does not fit all properties and all buisnesses equally. Perhaps there needs to beat least two types of license? one for people who do not pay NDR and one for business premises who pay NDR, maybe it is the fundamental how properties are assessed when used for letting that has to change ? but all seems very last minute and expensive in such economic times of uncertainty,

Submission by GRASS (Grassmarket Residents Association)

As a community group working in the Grassmarket area, one of the STL hot-spots in Edinburgh, we are writing to object to the proposed amendments to the Bill. We have been campaigning on this issue for nearly a decade and we need action now not in 2023. We also agree with Place Edinburgh's submission that the requirement for planning permission should apply outside control areas as there can be small pockets of STLs within other planning authorities. They are much more knowledgeable than us on the legislative detail.

Submission by Helen and Iain King

We run a single property self catering holiday accommodation on the Isle of Mull.

Our small income from the cottage supports it’s maintenance costs and ensures we can offer a high standard to our visitors. Our regulars consider it a home from home. It is kept pristine and meets all industry standards. We are members of ASSC.

The cottage has been in our family for generations and a valued haven to our children and grandchildren

It has brought many people to the island over the fifteen years we have let it. It contributes to the local economy and is respected in the community Our visitors contribute to many other small businesses relying on tourists and increase the demand to island producers supplying to them.

The new proposals and associated fees will have a devastating impact on our ability to keep it. It will reduce our maintenance budget.

We believe it is the worst time possible to be burdened by the further expense which will be incurred in meeting these new proposals in a year that has brought considerable financial hardship along with associated stress.

In the strongest terms possible we would like to object to these proposals.

Submission by George Tulloch

I would like the following submissions forwarded and considered by this committee please.

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

No. In the rural areas within the Highlands, the bed and breakfast businesses not only provide accommodation to our visitors, but along with these tourists, give an income to the local businesses within the villages and towns. Most of the bed and breakfast businesses within the rural highlands are very much seasonal businesses only operating for 6 or 7 months of the year, and are invariably owner occupier properties, providing 2 or 3 bedroomed accommodation, operating on very modest incomes bordering on annual losses, with the working hours (24 hour responsibility for guests) being such that they will undoubtedly be below the minimum wage thresholds. With the expensive and draconian proposals suggested, quite a number of bed and breakfast businesses (myself included) will simply be unable to afford the annual fees and will probably have to close. Our average guests are quiet middle aged couples, who are normally in bed by 10pm.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

No. It has completely missed out Bed and Breakfast accommodation providers. It has mentioned guest houses which are exactly the same as bed and breakfasts, but by not naming the bed and breakfast businesses, which are fully registered with the local councils and HMRC, it leaves us open to these costs. As mentioned above most bed and breakfast business providers are owner/occupiers, they are responsible for their guests 24/7, whilst in their property. It would appear that bed and breakfast businesses are being “tarred with the same brush” as Air B&Bs.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

No. The local authorities are constantly complaining about not having any money/staffing to carry out the basic of duties, and the staffing are not only virtually never available but complain about being overworked. The provision of “monitors” to inspect, our homes is both completely invasive, and not only unreasonable, but completely disproportionate to any problems which may be encountered in a rural setting.

Submission by Calum Munro (Cllr)

The long-term sustainability of communities here and in Skye and throughout the Highlands and Islands is our primary concern. The ability to introduce short-term let control areas if used effectively may provide benefits in some areas. But there are genuine concerns that the implementing of licences and the application of environmental/safety standards which are onerous for established, often traditionally built properties, may impose financial burdens on operators which seriously affects their viability.

I am satisfied with the SG’s definition of short-term lets. Similar concerns as above would apply to the application of legislation to B&Bs though I cannot see this clearly set out.

Local Authorities regularly demonstrate their ability to develop and deploy resources to accommodate new duties. This legislation will provide another challenge to which they will respond in an extremely challenging time for LAs, with increasing financial pressures year on year, exasperated by loss of income due to Covid-19, and the imperative to focus on providing services and stimulating local economies. Another concern would be the availability of suitably trained/qualified Environmental Health officers, and the increased responsibility some services would experience in addition to ongoing burdens caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Submission by Joff Ward

As a long term householder on the Isle of Mull, I have been privileged to reside, at times, and to holiday at other times with and in this community over the last 50 years. Close members of my family have, and still live on the island, farming and contributing to other communal activities. The social demographic of this community has changed, and will continue to do so, as technology, country, and world events unfold. This will alter the economic and societal social activities both necessary and and needed to sustain a healthy and viable structure in a rural, and island community such as this. Other members of my immediate family, now deceased, but buried on the island, lived, holidayed and contributed to the islands economy over the last 100 years plus, and thus I have learned a great deal about the demographic change here. Activity balance is necessary to provide a positive and thriving economy, ie: farming, manufacturing and tourism, need to be balanced carefully to achieve this. The recent RET introductions with the ferry crossings have also impacted both positively and negatively on the island’s economy, much of which I have also been able to observe. It would appear that Air BNB has a totally different clientele and usage to other more controlled short term lets such as holiday lets. This I have also learned from running a BNB in Devon, over the last few years. I have found Air BNB to be unsatisfactory for the standard of holiday letting that most hosts seem to want to achieve. Especially if it is a room as opposed to the whole building. It seems to me that if you start increasing the charges and stringent licensing of cottage/ house short term lets, there is a danger of losing a considerable number as the costs, especially in the light of the current 15 page changeover protocols, will become prohibitive. Whilst I fully appreciate the need for regulatory procedures, if they become too onerous and expensive, much benefit will be lost from the tourist industry, especially in the more rural areas. The RET tariff has changed, already, the demographic need for overnight accommodation on the island as people shop in the departure town, travel round the island and return to the mainland the same day, as the ferry costs are so much smaller and frequent. This is leading to the start of a slight decline in one night stays and currently the longer term holiday letting is of greater benefit to the island’s economic continuance. I hope these comments are of interest.

Submission from David Bilcliffe

I can see this working for Edinburgh and in City Centre situations, but not elsewhere. Why not pass local regulation under Bylaws, rather than centralised national legislation. One size really does not fit all!

If, for example, the Orkney Islands Council was to adopt this, then probably half of the self catering businesses in Orkney, including ours will close! Why? Because there is no point in continuing as the suggested cost of licensing rubs out any earnings over cost. In summary, No help during the pandemic and a kick in the teeth after... Please register this communication as my formal objection to the proposed national legislation. It is not appropriate for the regulation of non City Centre situations.

Submission Cath McGurk

My husband and I became owners of a B&B on the Isle of Arran in January 2020, we would normally be open around 8 months a year and provide full time employment for one local person. Last year we lost over 50% of bookings due to the Coronavirus pandemic, during the months we were able to open we operated at less than full capacity to ensure we complied with the guidance. The property has been a long established bed and breakfast or hotel and when we moved here in January 2020 many people in the village expressed their pleasure that it would continue to operate as such as it brings people into the community.

In addition to the responses to the questions I would like to add that I believe the consultation period was unnecessarily short. I was not aware the proposals would include B&B's, which also seems a view that is shared by many accommodation providers. This seems to be unfair.

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? No. It would appear that the proposals are to tackle a particular problem of a large concentration of short term lets in a dense area, for example Airbnb lettings in Edinburgh. However long established B&B's in less built up areas, like ours on the Isle of Arran, are caught up in these proposals. If this was the original intention why were B&B's not included in the hurried consultation? I cannot see that there was/is a problem being caused by B&B's. If this licensing scheme is to go ahead and coming on the back of the Coronavirus pandemic I fear many B&B's will go out of business. Without B&B's the tourism industry in Scotland would not flourish (post pandemic) as there would not be enough accommodation for everyone who wishes to come to Scotland, this certainly appears to be the case on Arran. In areas dependent on tourism this will have a devastating impact on local communities. As a former Local Authority Operations Manager with the responsibility for tackling homelessness I fully appreciate and acknowledge that local people struggle to find affordable accommodation however closing down B&B's will not add to the stock of affordable accommodation. The lack of affordable accommodation should be tackled by building more social housing and perhaps looking at the number of second homes in tourist areas. 2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No. Why are guest houses excluded but not B&B's? The distinction relying on planning approval for a guest house does not make sense, Many B&B's, which would probably meet the criteria for a guest house but do not have planning approval, due to historical reasons. Applying for planning approval would be an onerous burden both in terms of the application process and financially, as would licensing just when we are coming out of a pandemic that has seriously impacted on accommodation providers. 3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? No. As I understand it local authorities themselves think this would be too burdensome for them to be able to have a scheme ready by 2022 and implemented 2023. Surely post pandemic local authorities will have a backlog of work to implement.

Submission David and Marysia Nash

As members of the ASSC, we are aware the ASSC has submitted an in-depth submission to you, which we have read and agree with 100%. However we feel it would be helpful to complement their industry wide perspective with our own personal perspective. In particular we will focus on why, like many affected small business owners, we will probably close the business with resulting financial loss if the Order is made, and how that will negatively impact on our local economy.

Before doing so however I have to express my personal surprise, as a former government lawyer and occasional parliamentary drafter, that a legislative proposal which has such fundamental implications for the Scottish Tourist Industry is to be implemented by subordinate legislation rather than primary legislation. I was the drafter of The Pow of Inchaffray Drainage Commission (Scotland) Bill which you may recall was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2019. Despite only affecting only around 100 local residents, as primary legislation the Pow Bill received significantly more parliamentary time and media attention than this Order is likely to receive, and it could be amended in response to Committee concerns etc, yet this Order will have a much wider impact than the Pow Bill. The only reason we personally came to know about the proposed Order was from the ASSC who when we joined early last year - such is the low political and media profile of subordinate legislation!

Our business

Ours is probably a fairly typical small self-catering. Marysia has owned and run a single self-catering property in Crail, Fife for around 14 years. The property had been on the market for some time when Marysia purchased it and had been run latterly as a bed and breakfast. We spent many months renovating the house spending around £50,000, mostly on the time of local tradesmen and locally purchased materials. The work ranged from complete external painting to reflooring almost the entire house and renovating/replacing original 100 year old woodwork.

Like many other small self-catering business owners we have worked hard over these years to make an attractive holiday destination for a wide range of guests from the UK and abroad, involving significant expense on hard and soft furnishings and local artwork, including a specially commissioned stained glass panels for the bathroom window. We have been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the last 3 years.

This is definitely not a second home for us: our average annual occupancy is app. 240 nights per year and the property is used by us personally only very occasionally – perhaps 15 nights in total over the last 10 or 12 years. The property is commercially rated as a bona fide self-catering property. We have a separate bank account and income tax is fully paid by Marysia on all net income.

Why will we give up?

Because the majority of self-catering businesses are small businesses involving one, or at most 2 or 3, properties with relatively low net profits (e.g. around £10k before tax per property) and the proposed licensing scheme is onerous, costly and uncertain. Licensing regimes generally, and this one in particular, disproportionately negatively affect small businesses. So many of us small businesses will simply feel that carrying on is just not worth the very significant hassle, costs and future uncertainty, specifically –

• The very real uncertainty over many future bookings created by the possibility a licence could be refused, initially or at renewal. (This is a very real risk given the discretion Council will have to refuse). This is explained below. • The bureaucracy created by the licensing procedures and requirements • Uncertainty over licensing conditions (and some proposed conditions are quite impractical) • The cost of licences and their renewal (unknown but likely to be significant) • Uncertainty over frequency of renewal (the Order gives discretion to individual Councils: default is 3 years) • Uncertainty over value of making investments in property (particularly hard and soft furnishings that have little resale value if we have to close through licence refusal)

The requirement for a licence will create practical and legal chaos for bookings. Self catering properties are often booked a year in advance, certainly at peak seasons. If a booking is likely to fall after a licence is necessary, there are 2 choices. You either make the booking contract conditional on getting a licence and provide that as owner you can cancel the booking without penalty if you don’t get a licence. Or you can take the risk that the licence will go through, say nothing in the booking conditions but unilaterally cancel if you don’t get the licence. If the former, most people will not book (we wouldn’t in their shoes!!) and will choose other UK destinations like the readily accessible North of England where no such regime will apply - or simply go abroad. Hardly the way to encourage Scottish tourism! If the latter, the owner risks being sued for breach of contract with further reputational damage to the Scottish tourist industry. This will then be repeated every few years on licence renewal. This is NOT solved by grace periods etc – all they do is move the time frame in which this is an issue.

What will be the impact of us closing?

The local economic impact of us closing

In addition to the significant loss of income to Marysia -

• Around £3k per annum direct loss to the professional, locally based, housekeeping business we use. • Loss of business for local tradesmen. E.g. last year we spent £3.5k locally on upgrading our boiler etc, the previous year we spent around £2k on external painting that was cosmetic at that time rather than essential. • Loss of spending power of 240 nights of holidaymakers – cafes, gift shops, pubs, galleries, restaurants, local museums, tourist attractions, golf courses, taxis etc.

The wider impact of widespread sector closures

• Restricted supply of properties: self-catering is backbone of Scottish Tourist Industry for families who will simply switch to Northumberland and Lake District. • Price increases from decreased competition and licence costs making self- catering less affordable, particularly for families. • Discouraging staycations when we should be encouraging them for climate change mitigation (why are the Scottish Greens apparently supporting this?!!) and to help with post Covid economic recovery. • Reduced property occupancy: 34% of owners say they will close but use as second homes/holiday accommodation for family and friends, leaving their properties empty for many more nights per year.

The way forward

The Scottish Government appear to be pushing ahead with this Order because they believe it will address very localised concerns around Air BnBs, particularly in tenement flats (mostly in Edinburgh) and because of concerns over the number of second homes in some very specific places like Elie. But these are of course quite separate issues and are only potentially relevant in geographically restricted areas. (Ironically, the Order will probably make any perceived second home issues worse as existing business owners give up holiday letting but keep the properties for themselves, family and friends!) These may or may not be issues the Scottish Government should be addressing, but if they are they should be, and can easily be, addressed by using existing powers and where necessary, supplementing these with targeted, practical, fit for purpose, legislation.

In contrast, this Order is an untargeted sledgehammer to crack a nut and disproportionately affecting small businesses. If made it will seriously damage the backbone of the Scottish tourist industry and its supply chain by leading inevitably to the closure of many, successful, small businesses like ours.

Business owners like us will then lose significant income from businesses we have worked hard to build up over the years. Our direct supply chain of small businesses will lose money, and so will the local businesses that depend on visitors When we wish to book Scottish holidays ourselves we will find prices have gone up and availability and choice will be reduced. This pattern will be repeated across the whole of Scotland.

We cannot believe the Scottish Government want this to happen. Yet they have chosen to ignore repeated concerns raised and repeated warnings from across the industry, and to ignore the practical, alternative proposals provided to them by the ASSC.

This Order should not be made. It is bad legislation in many ways. The Scottish Government should go back to the drawing board. And in doing so, they need to listen to, and involve the assistance of, those who understand the practicalities of this critical backbone of the Scottish tourist Industry which to date they have consistently failed to do.

Submission by Gordon and Kari Lundie

As the owners of a very small self-catering business operating on a very small island heavily reliant on a very short tourist season in Scotland, we are writing to you to express our deep concern at the proposals put forward for the Short-Term Let Licensing and Control Zone plan. The very establishments ( ie in Edinburgh) that these proposals have been created for are unlikely to be negatively affected by the suggested fees as the income they receive from letting is significant in comparison to small rural areas. The suggested fees will, however, destroy small self-catering businesses as well as B&B’s and guesthouses should this be rolled out, having a direct impact on the tourism to these rural areas, in turn affecting employment and other small businesses reliant on the tourist trade. A one size fits all approach is not suitable to the diversity of the accommodation sector in Scotland.

We ask that you reconsider these proposals to allow a more sensible approach to allow small self-catering facilities to continue to operate and provide the local economy much needed tourist options.

Submission by Hughina Mackinnon

3. Local authorities will not have the adequate resources and powers, expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties. 2.Scottish Government have not defined the legislation clearly and correctly. Very confusing. 1. As an owner of very small B&B on an island community this licensing and legislation will be detrimental to these communities as majority do not have large hotels and tourism depends on small B&Bs for accommodation. If this is fully passed then the majority of B&Bs will close as the cost of yearly licensing and additional cost will not be viable for them to continue. I most certainly will close as my business year is very short usual 6 months. This legislation including B&Bs which were not in the original consultation will have a great impact on tourism to the Scottish Islands.

Submission by Carol Smith

These proposed changes seem to have been geared to regulate, for example, the Edinburgh Airbnb market, which is an entirely different operation from Bed and Breakfast visitor accommodation providers in other parts of Scotland. As a B & B operator, I suggest that the inclusion of our industry in the legislation will involve incurring further costs, some of which are yet to be determined, at a time when the industry is on its knees due to much reduced visitor numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic is ongoing – it is unclear as to when we can expect the industry to resume to any meaningful scale, and this legislation will potentially cause already struggling operators to simply give up, further impacting negatively on our tourist-dependent Highland economy.

The nature of the regulations, and the seemingly late addition of properly run bed and breakfast accommodation, which is a necessity for the highland tourist sector, seems to have been done in a hurry, and without due consultation, and recourse to the impact it will have on the industry, and to the burden on already cash-strapped local authorities to implement it.

Our small bed and breakfast is a lifestyle set-up – we saw a way of making a very small living in the Scottish Highlands, by providing much-needed accommodation in a sector that clearly needed our services. We sold a property that we lived in for 30 years, purchased a property in Skye, had two full successful trading years, where we paid our taxes in full, and then could not trade, due to the pandemic. We have been unable to trade in 2020, and what trade we might do in 2021 depends on the progress of any vaccine, and the desire of tourists to visit the area of the world with currently the worst pandemic death figures. If you choose to further decimate our industry with arbitrary rules and punitive monetary tariffs, then we, and, likely, many in our industry, will be forced to fold our business.

I trust you will give due consideration to the points I have made. I look forward to hearing from you, with a full explanation of your processes, and with a reasoned exchange on why you think this legislation is necessary for the many micro businesses in our situation.

Submission by Andy Rose

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

No - The proposed legislation is attempting to resolve a specific issue of the abuse of an online trading platform which encourages the sale of temporary accommodation (for tourism or travel purposes, etc.) in an unregulated and uncontrolled manner. Instead of regulating the online trading platform, who are then absolved of taking any responsibility, the proposal attempts to regulate anybody who provides temporary accommodation for payment, whether this in relation to a self-contained holiday let, a room in a Bed and Breakfast business, or a spare room in a domestic house. The proposed legislation therefore disproportionately affects ANYBODY who lets out a room for financial reward, whether or not they use the online trading platform in question (we do not). At the same time the online trading platform in question are allowed to continue unchecked, unregulated and unaffected.

When considering the long term sustainability of local communities and the balance between the promotion of tourism and strong local economies, the major consideration for many is Housing. This is a particular issue here on Skye, where there is limited housing stock and market values often price out local buyers. Will the proposed legislation help prevent local housing stock being bought up by speculators as holiday lets for tourists ? No - people from more affluent areas of the country (indeed the World), will always out-bid local families with limited resources in a property deal - this proposal cannot solve that.

Another issue is that of Temporary Housing - the rental market. The lack of available housing stock in the rental market is a big problem here on Skye particularly in peak tourist season, when we have large numbers of seasonal workers (Hotel staff, Restaurant staff, etc.) who are unable to find a place to stay. This has always been a seasonal problem however and the bigger issue is the lack of year-round accommodation for key workers on the island (NHS staff, teachers, police, etc.) Will the proposed legislation free up more housing stock for the rental market ? No - because that assumes that the only reason there is a shortage is that it has all been pre-booked or reserved for short term letting, which is clearly not the case. The real issue is that there is not enough housing stock - nothing to do with Short Term Letting.

The final consideration for the long term sustainability of local communities, is their ability to supplement their incomes from multiple sources. Particularly here on Skye, many families involved in crofting and other rural employment which does not pay a great deal at the end of the day, supplement their annual income by accommodating tourists in the peak season. This balances out their income shortfall in the winter months, when the heating bills have to be paid and the livestock all need feeding. The proposed legislation will disproportionately affect these families by making renting out a spare room no longer viable and causing rural communities further hardship.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

No - Bed and Breakfasts appear to have been included at the very last minute in the proposed legislation. By the same measure, every individual room in Hotels and Guest houses therefore also become a ’short term let’. This is clearly unintended and the result of rushing this consultation whereby the relevant industry bodies, although they have made submissions to this process, have not been consulted with fully. This is particularly apparent in the Business Regulatory Impact Assessment where the B&B sector have not even been considered.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

No - The local authorities are being expected to fund these additional requirements ‘up front’, with the proviso that they may ’set their own fees’ to recoup costs. As well as being a license to overspend in the long term, local councils are in the midst of having to deal with a global pandemic and simply do not have the capacity or budget within the current proposed timeframe. This approach also paves the way for dangerous disparities between individual local councils when setting fees proportionate to each short term letting scenario. The existing licensing teams in local councils are more than capable of registering all B&B’s along with the other Guest Houses and Hotels in their area, just as they register B&B’s as Registered Food Providers. The enforcement teams in the planning and housing departments in local councils already have the legal powers to crack down on overcrowded housing, anti-social behaviour and health and safety issues. They do not need additional legislation in order to do it. This would of course assume that local councils have adequate resources to enforce the existing regulations. The fact that there is still a problem would indicate that they do not.

Submission by David Collins

As to the question - Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

It is abundantly clear that here on Skye, as in many parts of the Highlands, tourism underpins our local communities. In Edinburgh, for example,and other urban centres tourism is no doubt a very significant part of the economy but it does not underpin everything in the way it does in other more rural parts of the country.

The teachers and doctors only have jobs if they have children to teach and patients to treat - take away tourism and many folk may be forced to leave as their incomes are to a greater or lesser extend dependent on tourism and then we will need fewer teachers and doctors. What seems to be not well understood by many (and it appears, surprisingly not by our own MSP Ms Forbes) is that many folk in Skye do not have one well paid job but rather a series of jobs and that is how they survive. Most people who do B & B or self -catering are not rapacious Rachmanlike landlords but just ordinary people trying to get by. Take away one important source of their income and very quickly things start to fall apart.

However, if it is the wish of the Scottish Government to maintain and possibly even enhance the tourist industry then it goes without saying that tourists need accommodation and they need a variety of accommodation - from camp-sites to luxury hotels and everything in between. There has to be a fair balance and these proposals do not seem remotely fair. A thriving tourist industry will enable our communities to thrive.

As Clare Winskill said in her email of the 20th January 2021 to Ms Forbes 'The 'mandatory standards' [ ] are new, disproportionate and in addition to those currently required and observed by operators of B&Bs and self-catering premises. In particular curfews for arrival and departure of guests, meeting the Repairing Standard applicable to long term lets (B&Bs and self-caterers previously specifically excluded), having an EPC in place, being required to modify premises at enormous expense, having to seek additional permissions to alter premises, having to apply for planning permission in the case of B&Bs with two rooms or less where none was necessary before, the risk of being refused a licence if the property falls within a Controlled Planning Zone. This does not reflect the current state of affairs, as you suggest, in terms of conditions of operation for B&Bs and self-caterers. The new Licensing scheme proposes far greater and wholly disproportionate (particularly in the rural settings of your constituency) mandatory requirements and restrictions on operation; '

Submission by Catriona and John Whitfield

We write to express our concern at the omission of traditional Bed and Breakfasts from the list of excluded accommodation under the above draft Scottish Statutory Instrument laid before parliament on 14 December 2020.

Whilst Guest Houses and Boarding Houses are specifically excluded, traditional B&Bs have not been excluded and thus fall within the scope of the Order. The proposal to treat traditional B&Bs in the same manner as the short term let / AirBnB sector is mistaken.

We ask that the current proposals are set aside in order to that you can conduct a fuller consultation, and a comprehensive impact assessment on all sectors likely to be affected so that the current draft Order can be reviewed, reconsidered and rewritten.

To address the three questions raised by the Local Government and Communities Committee: 1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long-term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies? No - The impact of these proposed regulations on a sector which has worked so hard over the past year to do the responsible thing and to support the Covid response will be significant and the impact on families' ability to maintain a feasible living, particularly in rural areas, potentially catastrophic. The Order is a blunt tool aimed at a problem which is based around amateur online platform operators, and one that particularly affects Scotland's cities; it is not a solution which is appropriate to apply across many differing types of visitor accommodation, and across the whole of the country. No - The idea that traditional B&Bs are not already subject to regulation is incorrect as (even where they are able to operate without planning permission under UCO9 as a property with 2 or fewer letting rooms) they remain subject to: • fire safety legislation,

• environmental health regulations,

• food hygiene regulations, and

• the requirement to hold public liability insurance.

2. Has the Scottish Government’s defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation? No - the draft legislation conflates traditional B&Bs with the short term let sector. The idea that traditional B&Bs are comparable with AirBnB type activity is mistaken. Traditional B&Bs are distinguishable on a number of bases: • they are run by owner occupiers who live on the premises;

• they involve the provision of traditional, in person hospitality and the sharing of local knowledge;

• they involve the provision of a prepared food service;

• they are an integral part of the earned income ‘jigsaw’ of many families, particularly those in rural areas;

• traditional B&Bs are run within a family home and thus combine earning a living with long term, residential occupation of a building. This contrasts with the short term let sector which operates within a property which has, necessarily, been removed from the range of property available for long term, residential use.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties? No. Whilst the expertise may be there, the resources of all local authorities, particularly those covering rural and sparsely populated regions, are woefully overstretched. We understand that local and planning consultees highlighted the likely challenges and did not support these proposals. One of the reasons that the answer to all 3 questions is 'no' must be at least partially attributable to the flawed consultation undertaken prior to drafting of the Order. Specifically: • The consultation did not follow the customary three-month practice but was reduced to slightly over four weeks, this goes against the Scottish Government’s best practice advice.

• The poor drafting of, and poor communication surrounding, the consultation gave the impression that B&Bs would be on the excluded list; this led to a low level of engagement with and by the sector which had been led to believe that it would not fall within the proposed regulations. To add to the regulatory burden of any industry sector without making it clear at consultation stage that they would be covered by the change is simply poor legislative practice. • No Business Regulatory Impact Assessment accompanied the consultation. The BRIA was only later published on 14 December. The approach taken in this consultation has not met the Scottish Government’s own Better Regulation principles, nor has it fulfilled best practice. As the Law Society of Scotland have pointed out, the omission of a BRIA at the time of the consultation “makes it challenging for fully informed representations to be made.”

Submission by Araminta Dallmeyer

I own and run a small 2 bed room B and B - comply with Health and Safety, Fire Regulations etc. and am lucky enough to have lots of repeat guests each year.

There are lots of different types of visitor accommodations and I do not think that the Government has made a proper distinction between these various types. There is a world of difference between a 5 bedroomed AirBnB apartment in Edinburgh to a B and B like mine. If the Government insists on licensing all Short Lets - I would imagine that a lot of the small B and B owners would cease to trade as I have read/heard of figures like £1000 per license plus other costs being talked about. I also wonder how the local Councils would cope having to deal with thousands of licensing applications and all the ramifications that would bring.

Could a low cost registration scheme be put into place -whereby all s/c, b and bs and other accommodation providers would, for a small fee, have to register their premises.

We, in the hospitality industry, have had the most dire year imaginable so please do not bring in regulations that are going to hammer us further.

Submission by John Port

Concern over sudden deadline for consideration of licensing of B&Bs and Home Sharing

I write regarding the news brought to my attention that the Scottish Government is considering introducing licenses for letting and B&B’s. It has been suggested by local tourist organizations that this could amount to around £2000 a year to license and be part of some system organized by Local Authorities to control letting across their areas. Initially I thought this had merit as according to the Government website it would quote:

Licensing of short-term lets will use the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The scheme will incorporate a compulsory element, underpinning safety standards for short-term lets, and additional, optional, powers for local authorities to impose further conditions or requirements where that is appropriate for their areas.

Short-term lets control areas will be introduced using powers at section 17 of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. Home sharing - renting a room in your own home or allowing others to stay in your own home whilst on holiday - will not be affected by control areas.

REF: https://www.gov.scot/news/regulating-short-term-lets/

The emphasis in bold is mine.

So a Local Authority could presumably control overuse of say Highland second homes currently let as holiday homes in particular areas where communities are damaged by the prevalence of year round holiday accommodation.

The issue for me is I am now being led to believe that this will be extended to B&Bs and home sharing or rooms or ‘granny flats’ in homes that are already occupied.

If this were to happen then many B&B and home sharing providers would simply stop operating. The extra costs would make it unviable and will have no impact on the original purpose of the Bill which was so that “Local authorities are to be given new powers to regulate short-term lets where they decide this is in the interests of local communities.”

Similarly from the same webpage:

“Short-term lets can offer people a flexible travel option and have contributed positively to Scotland’s tourism industry and local economies across the country. “However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of short-term lets are causing problems and often make it harder for people to find homes to live in.

“That is why we are empowering local authorities to implement a system that works for their area. By giving councils the power to set conditions around short-term lets licences and put in place planning control areas to tackle hot spots, communities across Scotland will be able to decide what is best for them and their local economy.

Large property owners will pay the license and manage this via travel companies at a cost to the tourists hoping to holiday. Small operators often families trying to supplement their income will be forced to stop. The unintended and likely consequences of this for B&B’s and home sharing - renting a room in your own home will damage fragile isolated communities where the original attempt seemed to be to help them.

My plea today is that you consider omitting B&Bs and home sharing from any intended licensing costs, as initial intentions seemed to state. The owners of the properties who live in the property alongside their guests maintain high standards. Visitors and expectations drive standards in these situations alongside online reviews.

I hope that you will give this serious consideration and use whatever power you have to avert the possibility of what I consider the unintended consequences and damage to small businesses in remote rural communities who may depend on the additional income of home sharing and B&B.

Submission by Alex, Alan, Catherine & Hamie Macleod

1. Do the proposed changes strike the correct balance between protecting the long- term sustainability of local communities and promoting tourism and strong local economies?

Absolutely not, the draft SSI fails to deliver on its aim to protect the long-term sustainability of local communities, as it will destroy the BnB sector which will have a knock-on effect to the larger social and economic prosperity of Scotland's local economy.

Many micro BnBs have taken out bounce back loans to get them through 2020 (and with the way 2021 looks we will also need to use that cash to get over reduced income this year). These loans were taken based on our existing overheads and tax liabilities as we understood them to be. Now that the draft SSI has landed in parliament (to inadvertently include the entire BnB sector) we now find that we need to pay up to an extra £2000 per year! For a licence and a monitoring fee.

As the BnBs impacted presently pay full council tax rates, with the introduction of a licence and the costs laid out in the draft legislation many will simply close, and the resulting drop in income will increase the amount of claims to Local Authority Council Tax Reduction which was already costing Scotland £6.525 Million PER WEEK in March 2020.

In addition to this extra cost, this will reduce tourist accommodation, and for our specific area (Isle of Skye), this could have huge and devastating consequences. Tourism is one of the main industries here, and the wider hospitality (pubs and restaurants, etc.), shops (gift and grocers), visitor attractions, etc. all employ people for whom their businesses are only viable with tourism. It is well known many of these businesses are balanced on a knife edge generally, and with the impacts of COVID it is unlikely they will be recovered within 2 years, and the introduction of this legislation will lead to many closures of tourist accommodation.

2. Has the Scottish Government defined short terms lets in a clear and correct way in the legislation?

We do not believe that BnBs should be captured and held to ransom by the Scottish Government due to a last-minute change in the SSI use class orders to suddenly included B&Bs before any further consultation with the sector.

This poor consultation and rushed timeline from the Scottish Government has led to confusion of the definitions of the draft legislation and as a direct result has inflicted panic and worry on bed and breakfast owners across Scotland at the worst possible time.

Additionally, the SSI states that all included properties must comply with Repairing Standard legislation and EPC legislation, however BnBs are previously exempt from these. So, this new legislation directly contradicts existing legislation.

3. Will local authorities have adequate resources, powers and expertise to make a success of their new powers and duties?

No, there is no way possible for our already stretched local authorities to be able to cope with the extra burden of this draft legislation.

Highland Council could face at least 10,000 potential applications and I believe that to be a conservative estimate, with the council needing to find £43.6 million (up from £28.5millon due to the second COVID Lock down) to bridge its funding gap.

The Scottish Government cannot expect a local authority, that cannot afford to core fund its CABs or hire extra staff in its welfare support teams due to budget constraints, to suddenly find public money to fund: • Licensing team – additional administrative licensing staff • Planning team – additional full-time posts (professional support officers) for a two-year period. There would still be resources required after this two- year period to cover new and renewed licence enquiries, however this is anticipated to be at a much lower level. • Environmental Health – additional full-time posts (technical officers) for a two-year period. There would still be resources required after this two-year period to cover new and renewed licence enquiries, however this is anticipated to be at a much lower level. • ICT systems – a review of the on-line tools to enable self-service and online payments to streamline the application and payment process.

To highlight further the pressure on our local authority, Highland Council are advising that it has an 18-month backlog of change of use requests for Council Tax already. This legislation has a real risk of overwhelming our local authorities.

In our view this issue should have been dealt with by the Tourism and Rural Affairs Minister with Visit Scotland who would have been able to re-introduce the membership scheme. Visit Scotland already have expertise in membership, worldwide visitor trends, and for decades have worked with local authorities, Environmental Health teams, local fire teams, etc. in co-ordinating visits to member’s properties.

Submission by John Nicolson & Mae Ai Lian

We understand that the key policy driver for this legislation is due to concerns about AirBnB type short term lets in Edinburgh which potentially impact local housing availability. However the legislation being introduced would apply throughout Scotland and has far reaching consequences for people like us who depend on the income from our self-catering cottage, and the adverse impact on people like us have not been taken into account. The legislation is not fit for purpose given the one- size fits all approach being taken – it was meant mainly to address specific concerns in a localised area, but the way it is being rolled out means that it is people like ourselves that will be unduly & disproportionately burdened with no benefit.

My wife & I run a self-catering holiday cottage– the cottage was built specifically for this purpose & run as such by my father several years ago, and when my wife & I moved back to the hamlet, we purchased the cottage from my father with the intention of continuing to run the property as a self-catering property. It is a key source of income for us as a young couple starting out, particularly given the lack of opportunities locally. Its a small microbusiness - we only have this 1 property let out as self-catering accommodation. When we bought the cottage we knew that the returns would not be huge but it would be a key source of diversified income for us to sustain our livelihoods going forward (supplementing for eg my seasonal part-time income as a tour guide at Eilean Donan Castle). We did not “remove” the cottage from the local housing market since the cottage was built for purpose by my father. The cottage is a standalone property in a remote hamlet in the Highlands and therefore there is no issue with noise or neighbours (indeed it is usually let out to couples & small families given the size of the cottage). We run the cottage in a safe & secure manner, complying with applicable health & safety requirements. Therefore all the new proposed legislation does is impose additional administrative red tape & costs for us whilst substantially reducing our income – without any benefit whatsoever or addressing any of the issues which we understand it is meant to achieve.

The new regulations which are being proposed are unduly onerous and would disproportionately impact people like ourselves who have small self-catering or bed & breakfast businesses in remote areas where tourism is a vital source of income to the local economy. We understand that the proposals include licensing and monitoring fees of potentially £2000 per year and include unintended consequences which have not been properly thought through in terms of their impact. For eg the requirement to have carpets in all areas to minimise noise would be disproportionate in our case – as mentioned above, noise is not an issue & the installation of the carpet would reduce the efficacy of our ground source heat pump and therefore would not be eco-friendly. The licensing regime would impose additional onerous requirements and operating costs (eg application & renewal process, requirements re EPCs, notifications of alteration to layouts, inspection visits) all of which are just overkill for a small microbusiness like ourselves – it would substantially increase the amount of work which we would have to do whilst reducing our income for no benefit to anyone whatsoever. It doesn’t just impact people like us, we have been told that the B&B sector will also fall within this legislation but have not even been consulted on the legislation and no business regulation impact assessment has been made (which we would have hoped would have flagged some of the issues with the approach being taken).

It feels as if this legislation is being rushed through (the consultation process was shorter than the Scottish Government best practice guidance!) without proper scrutiny or thought on the impact of persons like ourselves in areas outside Edinburgh who depend on our small business and would reduce even more the income we get from this such that it may not even be viable. We have already been disproportionately hit by the Covid 19 pandemic and the forced closures & travel restrictions last year (and continuing into this year) have decimated the tourism industry in our area. We also understand that the proposals are not even considered favourably by the local authorities who are being required to implement these licensing rules. The licensing regime will be incredibly expensive not just for us but also for local authorities to implement, at a time like this when we have reduced resources & everyone is feeling the impact of Covid on their livelihoods, why are we throwing money away on this scheme which is not beneficial? We can’t even get our local council to re-tar the road to our village properly & fix the potholes/standing water and its upsetting to think that the limited resources of the Highland Council will now be used to implement a scheme which does not properly address the policy concerns but instead has adverse consequences & impact on small businesses in other regions of Scotland like ourselves.

We would therefore be grateful if you could please raise these issues and ensure that our voices are heard.

Submission by Julia Wigan

I run two holiday cottages in a remote part of Sutherland where margins are thin. Any more regulations and costs would be hard to bear and would lead to closure of the cottages which in turn would lead to loss of employment (contractors and servicing staff, advertising etc.) and loss of local businesses who rely on tourists in our remote area where other diversifications are difficult. Ours is a successful business, taking no government aid and built up over 40 years. What a waste.

Submission by Eugenie Thomasson

I write with reference to the proposed licencing legislation for Short term lets in Scotland and would like to put forth my own position, which I expect is representative of a vast majority of self-catering accommodation providers in Scotland. Firstly, we have been knocked for 6 by Covid, as has everyone else, but to then put the threat of the expense and restrictions of this scheme in front of us is kicking a dog when it’s down. I expect a number of businesses will find the expense of this scheme too much and businesses will be forced to close. In some regions, including my own (Isle of Mull, Argyll), there is little external employment, we have to make our own income through whatever means we can. Tourism is the lifeblood of our area and the restrictions and expense of this scheme will force businesses to close and increase unemployment and all the negative resulting effects of that such as poverty and ill health, mental and physical. People may then move away from rural areas, as their main source of income has been taken away, communities will suffer and become unsustainable.

If businesses manage to cover this cost and the restrictions, then they may pass on the cost to their customers. This will make Scotlands self catering industry become more expensive and the cost will act as a deterrent to tourists, who may then chose to go elsewhere. The scheme is Scotland shooting itself in the foot. As a nation we absolutely pride ourselves on our beautiful country and we all want to extend a warm welcome to visitors to show off our marvellous wild places, food and culture but this proposed scheme will make it increasingly difficult for those in the industry to do so. Tourism, one of Scotland’s biggest and successful industries will suffer at the hands of this scheme.

Whilst I agree that a level of licensing is actually in essence a good idea, to ensure that we are all providing a safe and quality product, charging this amount is just prohibitive and will cause a huge downturn in the industry as a whole. I fail to see why the scheme is so expensive and it seems that the government is attempting to cream off income from it’s people, which will be to it’s detriment when the tourism industry is negatively affected. Our councils are struggling as it is, we see it in all aspects of life, and to add this to their to do list may be the straw that breaks the camels back. I hope my remarks will be given consideration.

Submission by Barry & Carolyn Whenman

We object strongly to this proposal. The proposed fee of £2000 is far too much for small businesses like ours (annual turnover less than £10,000), and will result in many self-catering providers closing down and selling up. This is the exact opposite of what is needed for our fragile island economy!

Submission by Margaret and Graham Eadie

We are concerned about the new proposed laws and fees suggested for the self catering industry We have invested heavily in my property and am fully compliant with all the guide lines for safety etc. We also pay all tax required by HMRC as well as fees to accountant and upkeep expenses. We provide a service to the community and tourist industry but will defiantly consider shutting down the business like lots of others who I have spoken to.if the ridiculous sums and conditions are implemented

Submission by David & Lisa Bevan

This proposed legislation has been brought to our attention by Skye Connect, the ASSC, the Scottish B&B Association and many local, and very concerned, B&B and self-catering business owners.

Essentially the Local Government and Communities Committee should withdraw this SSI when it meets next week, as it is ‘incompetent’, has gone way beyond the original policy objectives, has become ill conceived, over onerous, does not have a proper Impact Assessment and the consultation process was not followed correctly.

At the very least it should be put on hold until it’s impact can be considered more fully following the COVID pandemic. There is absolutely no need for a piece of legislation such as this to be rushed through at any point in time, let alone when the country and its tourist economy is on its knees. Support is what is required, not ill conceived regulation that will have significant financial implications for so many small businesses throughout the whole of Scotland.

The original intention of this whole process was to address largely Health and Safety issues that were being experienced in Edinburgh’s residential tenements where, amongst other issues, it had been difficult for the emergency services to get hold of property owners in order to carry out required inspections.

Gradually this proposed legislation has taken on a far wider remit to include self- catering accommodation throughout the whole of Scotland and as of December 2020 it is now going to affect Bed & Breakfast properties.

We run both a self-catering property and a small B&B in the Highlands and, like many in the tourist industry, have been hard hit by the COVID pandemic. Our income this year was only 23% of last year’s. Consequently, and like many in the industry, we are wondering how we are going to survive and whether our business will survive.

Because of COVID we have already reduced the number of rooms that we can offer and we are aware of many others that are having to do the same, whether it be temporarily or permanently. Accommodation for tourists is already limited throughout the whole of Scotland and COVID is only making that situation worse.

When Government policy is to support the tourist industry, as it is now such an important part of the Scottish economy, it is difficult to see how Government could propose legislation that would put that industry at risk. In the Highlands the tourist industry is absolutely vital to the local economy. By closing just one of our rooms, and assuming that a two people would have occupied that room, that means that spend within the Highlands economy will fall by around £195 per day, allowing for that couple to enjoy a lunch, dinner in the evening, buy a gift and visit…… Our rooms are full from Easter until the end of October, ie 200 nights a year, so in a year that would be reduction in spend within local economy of £39,000. It wouldn’t take too many rooms to close for that number to get into the £Millions.

The STLLL as currently drafted is about to place an unnecessary additional financial burden on self-catering and B&B businesses that will undoubtedly lead to a significant number of these businesses closing. It will also place a significant additional burden on the Local Authorities of Scotland without providing the necessary financial support.

The Local Authorities do not support the proposals, the Association of Scottish Self- Caterers do not support the proposals and the B&B Industry has not even been consulted.

The mere fact that the B&B Industry has not been consulted makes this proposed legislation ’Incompetent’ and as a consequence should not be passed into law. Furthermore, the proposed legislation is hugely disproportionate to its original scope and intention. We are also advised that no proper Impact Assessment on the economic impact was undertaken and shown to policy makers, hence they cannot have been aware of just how many properties and businesses would be affected.

This legislation should either be kicked into the long grass along with the ‘Tourist Tax’ until the true effect of the pandemic is known, or should be reined in to focus on its original intentions. Otherwise the Government will find that when the tourists try to return they’re numbers will be reduced by the reduction in accommodation available.

When tourism is so vital to the Highlands economy and the local Foodbank is already supporting a significant number of households every week and expects this number to increase over the coming months, how can legislation be even considered when it will have such a damaging effect on what is already a very fragile economy. The Committee must withdraw this SSI and seek to put the right policy and regulation in place, which clearly this is not, as it is ill conceived and over onerous and does not meet SNP policy objectives.

Submission by Duncan MacInnes

I've recently become aware of the legislative proposals to license short term letting across the whole of Scotland. The figures being talked about are £1000 license fee per annum and £1000 monitoring fee per annum. I haven't been able to find out if this is per property or not.

I would welcome a mandatory registration of properties with spot-checks on health & safety and fire regs as this can only strengthen the quality of accommodation on offer. But I think a simple mandatory registration and enforcement of regulations should suffice.

I suspect there are two objectives behind this move:

1. to squeeze owners out from short-term letting in the interests of boosting the number of long-term rentals. 2. to make more properties available on the market for sale

I can see the problem with AirBnB lets has become overwhelming in Edinburgh, but surely this is a local problem solvable by local solutions? The income from long- term letting falls so far below what can be made from short lets that owners will pass the cost onto consumers or just take the hit to cut their losses. The alternative (to sell up) doesn't solve the housing problem because there's unlimited demand from down south (up here on Skye and I'm sure in Edinburgh) for property, and these folks have deep pockets.

All this policy is going to achieve is to hit the incomes of accommodation providers at a time when we are already suffering from enforced closures.

I think this is a bright idea from some apparatchik in Holyrood who now won't back down from their obvious mistake. Who thought B&Bs should be included? Did they consult B&Bs and do they have data on the scope of this change? Big headache for the Councils to implement!

Submission by Sonia Whittington and Graham Anderson

We are very concerned that this licence will prohibit small B&B and self catering from operating and these are the bulk of The industries B &B’s. Small business does not have huge turnover and having to implement all the regulations that will inevitably be needed to obtain this license and the cost of the licence itself will undoubtedly create many to close Never to reopen. This will have a tragic nock on effect to restaurants, shops, art galleries and potteries not to mention larger businesses like theatres. We really ask you to consider what a tragic loss this will Be to the whole of Scotland as this uniqueness it what attracts our global customers. I have been in the industry for 50 years so have a lot of experience to draw from and feel it would be a sad day . Airbnb although it is the main reason for this being implemented is also the largest accommodation provider in the world and is used by 90% of the younger generation. So we should also be very careful of driving it all away. We are very surprised that more consultation was not done with the actual operators of the small self catering and B&B’s and are asking if the decision could be delayed before implementing.

Submission by Angus and Fiona Smith

We both own a small B&B business and during the 6 month Summer tourist season we live individually in each home and run each as our main employment. We have been involved in the B&B business for the last 5 years and were hoping to remain in it until we retire in 10-15 years time.

We became aware of the planned ‘Short Term Lets Licensing Legislation and Planning Control Areas’ through social media, well, my wife more than I as I do not really use social media, and we certainly did not know about this through normal news media etc, so the whole thing had taken us a bit by surprise. When we first found out about this a few months ago we thought it was to deal with the issues in Edinburgh with private flats being illegally let out to AirBnB guests and the social issues it had caused there. We were not aware that the legislation to deal with these issues would cover ALL of Scotland and are quite honestly shocked to discover this. We also though it was just confined to ‘Self Catering’ or ‘unmanned’ accommodation, NOT B&B’s or other ‘manned’ accommodation, but from what I gather the plan is to include ALL letting accommodation, other than long term lets, under the same umbrella.

Anyway, we believe the proposed legislation to be (and I quote many other people): Hugely onerous, incompetent and completely disproportionate.....

We believe that this legislation, if it goes ahead will have a hugely detrimental effect on not only our business, but the entire tourist industry in Skye and Scotland, and it will cost considerably more money from lost taxes, potential job losses and unemployment than it would ever re-coup if up and running. I expect to see many of these micro businesses closing down. We are unclear as to the individual cost of instigating the planned licensing and inspection scheme, but suggestions online suggest anything from £2000 to £3000 or even more per property per year. That kind of cost to our ‘micro-business’ would be very punishing and may affect our ability to continue operating. We cannot understand the huge cost behind this when a simple register of all accommodations is surely all that is required, and especially B&B’s which are part of people’s homes really would already be complying with all Health and Safety regulations etc.

One of our greatest concerns which we touched on above was the lack of consultation before this getting as far as it has, and zero consultation with our own B&B industry, or any individuals who run these businesses.... How is that allowed or even possible to happen?

I do not wish to write any more in this message but PLEASE WITHDRAW THE DRAFT SSI immediately. PLEASE protect the delicate balance in our tourism industry with a better system than just taxing us more and potentially shutting many businesses down. PLEASE consider that instead of introducing this hugely onerous, incompetent and completely disproportionate legislation, why not just have a registration system with mandatory HSE instead?

Submission by Riet & Piet van Barneveld

As hosts/owners of a small Bed & Breakfast in Broadford on Skye we are writing to express concerns on the new legislation for the running of B&B accommodations in the Highlands. We and many others are already struggling in the midst of a pandemic so it is impossible for us to pay thousands of pounds for licenses and regulation procedures. As a small business we contribute to the local economy of our beautiful Isle of Skye. We support local retailers and supermarkets also other small businesses as there are restaurants, bars, pubs, bus-and boat trip providers.

Tourists appreciate to stay in a small set up accommodation. We provide them with the more personal attention, local knowledge about the area and where to get the best food and drinks. This results in many visitors feel like being treated as a member of the family and we see them returning year after year. Businesses like B&Bs are vital to small communities as Broadford and Skye in total.

We think it is unnecessary and costly to start operating a licensed register when there are simple low cost registration schemes already available. The cost of this new legislation would have a huge impact to the tourist industry on Skye and the lives of many, mainly elderly people involved. For us (a couple, early 60’s) it means our B&B is our only source of income so if we are forced to close down due to this new legislation we see ourselves applying for financial benefits. And we are afraid we are not the only one!.

Submission by Fiona Cameron

I run a B&B and self catering cottages. The tourism industry has been hit hard as of course has all other industries and will take a while to recover after COVID but yet the Scottish Government are intending putting charges of £2,400 on us. I have never read such nonsense that the Scottish Government are suggesting B&Bs replace wooden floors with vinyl or carpets and have soft closing doors and noise monitors!!! B&Bs are mostly in people's own homes and the guests who choose to stay in one are looking for the individual rustic charm that they offer, not some commercial property with soft closing doors and noise monitors!!

Why is it that the Scottish government are going against the usual 3 months consultation and doing it in 4 weeks against their own recommendations, and haven't even consulted with the B&B sector and short term let sector?

The tourism industry will take a long time to recover after COVID but if this ridiculous ruling gets passed it will be the end for the B&B industry. I appreciate it is probably aimed at airbnb properties in Edinburgh and Glasgow whereby neighbours are complaining, and that, perhaps would make sense to have some sort of planning permission, but we cannot all be tarred with the same brush. We are based in the Cairngorms in the country and make a small living off our business. These fees would hit us hard and to suggest we replace beautiful wood floors for carpets and change our lovely farmhouse wooden doors for soft closing doors is just ridiculous. I await your comments.

Submission by Elham Baghdadi

My company has recently purchased a hotel in Castle Douglas and would like to announce our disagreement with the new legislation of Short-Term Lets. The announced clauses of this regulation would significantly impact a sector that has already been hardly hit by the global pandemic and would still suffer for quite a while at least. As far as it's been widely announced, the government is trying to help businesses like ours in this time of difficulty and the approval of this new legislation somehow acts in the opposite way. It would be appreciated if you could reconsider the implementation of such legislations when there hasn't been enough consultation with their stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Submission by Elspeth Seatter

I am dismayed at the government’s proposed short-term regulations for small b&b’s and agree with Julie Rickards comments to you in her email 7th Jan 2021.

The proposed requirements of licensing, monitoring and planning permissions and fees of £2,401 is an excessive sum for all small b&bs, particularly in the Islands due to our limited season and income.

Owners of Edinburgh short term letting properties are able to charge larger sums and have a much longer trading period annually, so these fees are of no significance to them.

Having heard some media reports I believe these measures are a knee jerk reaction solely to curb the excessive self catering letting situation in Edinburgh which it’s claimed is becoming over proportioned and disruptive to the local population through reducing accommodation for the first time buyer and numerous tenement flats etc being full of tourists unmonitored by a live in owner. Unless the government specifically targets that problem the situation there will continue, whilst sadly they will have culled the island's small b&bs. The government needs to tease out the difference between these 2 business types before taking action.

Many of these local b&b providers, traditionally older women, frequently with no private pensions and now having to work almost an additional decade to achieve their state pension will be left living on the ‘bread line’ and for many their maturing age and frequent health related issues will leave it impossible to acquire alternative employment and incomes.

As these b&b facilities close down it will lead to a reduction of accommodation for the tourism trade, particularly during peak season. Tourists who normally stay in small b&bs will not necessarily wish to access larger guest houses, hotels or self catering accommodation as many enjoy staying in a small b& b with the owner. Any drop in these tourist numbers impacts on the economy of small communities

As Julie has already stated those of us with small b&b’s who are not on business rates have been excluded from government grants. The hospitality hardship grant operated by OIC has changed their criteria to exclude claims by anyone who isn’t open for business during Covid. For most of us we are at an age that makes us much more vulnerable to Covid, which makes it a more serious Health & Safety issue for us.

Finally, I cannot understand the government's reasoning for wishing to implement this legislation at this time when things are difficult enough for the traditional b&b owner.

Submission by Danny and Anita Mills

My wife and I bought a 6 bedroom guest house in Moffat in October 2018. Everything was going well until March 2020 when the pandemic struck. As if that wasn't bad enough for our sector, I now understand that legislation is currently being considered which may make our business unprofitable.

Our guest house runs on very fine margins. We undertake all the health and safety requirements which are necessary, including having a hard - wired fire alarm and emergency lighting system. This costs approximately £1,000 for a 3 year contract. We have extremely large energy bills and maintenance costs.

If, as is suggested, there would be a further charge for being licensed of between £2,000 - 2,500 this could potentially make the business unviable. This is the general feeling of all the other guest house owners in Moffat.

We have worked extremely hard over the past 2 years to make our business somewhere people wish to come to enjoy Southern Scotland and to spend money in the local community. Please don't impose more charges on us.