Glasgow City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee currently has a consultation live seeking views on whether to amend its Short Term Lets policy on temporary exemptions, for the period of the Commonwealth Games. The Licensing and Regulatory Committee’s current policy does not permit temporary exemptions however the Committee is seeking views on whether the policy should be amended to allow temporary exemptions for the period of the Commonwealth Games.
The consultation is live until Monday 2 February.
The consultation can be found here.
An amended draft Temporary Exemption Policy can be viewed here.
While the ASSC supports increasing accommodation supply for the event, the current proposal contains serious gaps that members should highlight in their responses.
Here are the key points you may wish to raise.
The draft policy does not clearly confirm that mandatory licence conditions will apply to temporary exemptions.
These conditions cover essential health and safety matters such as fire safety, gas and electrical certification and occupancy limits.
If they are required at all other times, they must also apply during the Games.
Members should make clear that guest safety cannot be compromised for a major international event.
You may also wish to ask:
The suggested four-month lead time means applications would effectively need to be made by March.
This is unrealistic for many casual and small-scale hosts, especially as the consultation itself closes on 2 February, leaving only around six weeks to design the process, communicate the opportunity and allow hosts to decide whether to apply.
There is no information on the cost of applying for a temporary exemption.
Members should point out that without knowing the fee, it is impossible to judge whether participation is commercially viable.
In the current financial climate, a high fee would deter many hosts and undermine the policy’s purpose.
The requirement to comply with Glasgow’s planning policy introduces major uncertainty and cost.
Current guidance is unclear and risk-averse, and in practice this would likely restrict eligibility largely to homesharing only.
Members should ask for clarity on whether this is the Council’s intention.
The complexity, cost and timescales of planning are likely to discourage many hosts from participating at all.
The policy offers no explanation as to why temporary exemptions are acceptable for the Games but not at other times.
Members may wish to question the fairness and logic of this approach and ask for a clear, evidence-based justification.
In Summary
Members should encourage the Council to improve the policy by ensuring:
The consultation closes Monday 2 February.
Member responses will be vital in shaping a policy that genuinely supports accommodation supply for the Games without compromising safety or excluding local hosts.