Short-term lets: in need of regulation? Ministers consult

Whether regulation is needed of short-term lets in Scotland is the subject of a new Scottish Government consultation.

It comes against the background of a significant growth in short-term lets – which the paper takes as meaning for periods of less than 28 days – which are blamed in places such as Edinburgh for increasing the shortage of accommodation and rising house prices and levels of rent. Other problems include loss of amenity, personal safety risks and "regulatory mismatches" compared with hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation in terms of health and safety regulation, and taxation.

The paper sets out the factual background, describes the issues arising (while seeking evidence of the incidence and severity of these), outlines local authorities' current powers to address them and presents an overview of regulatory approaches elsewhere in the world. It confirms that while the Government welcomes the economic benefits which the development of new models of short-term letting brings to Scotland, it also recognise the problems caused.

A regulatory approach might involve registration and/or licensing of short-term lets, and enable different areas to tailor the approach to their local needs and priorities, with the possible addition of a market-based mechanism to control numbers. Ministers propose a national framework which empowers councils to establish regimes appropriate to their local needs, through a combination of any of:

• primary legislation – the Government is prepared to introduce a bill to implement a regulatory framework, if this is necessary;
• new, or changes to, secondary legislation;
• new statutory or voluntary guidance or codes of conduct (Government-led or industry-led);
• new (or amended) taxes, fees or charges.

Click here to access the consultation. The deadline for responses is 19 July 2019.