Local Government and Communities Committee
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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.