Highland FOI Reveals No Measurable Housing Impact from Short-Term Let Control Area

A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) response from Highland Council has revealed a lack of quantifiable evidence demonstrating that the Short-Term Let Planning Control Area in Badenoch & Strathspey has delivered any material improvement in housing availability or affordability.

The findings raise important questions about the effectiveness of Planning Control Areas as a policy tool and whether further expansion can be justified without a robust evidence base.

No demonstrated link to housing outcomes

The FOI response confirms that while the Council has monitored changes in short-term let activity, it has not established any causal link between the Planning Control Area and improved housing outcomes.

Data referenced by the Council indicates that:

• In some areas, the proportion of dwellings used as short-term lets has declined
• In others, growth has continued, albeit at a slower rate

However, these trends relate to short-term let activity rather than measurable housing outcomes such as increased availability of homes for permanent residents or improved affordability.

Key housing indicators remain unassessed or inconclusive

The Council explicitly confirms that several core housing indicators have not been meaningfully evaluated:

• Affordable housing supply
  No analysis has been undertaken on the impact of the Planning Control Area.
• Property sale prices
  Insufficient post-implementation data exists to assess any impact.
• Private rental prices
  Only six months of data is available, with trends mirroring wider Highland patterns rather than indicating any distinct effect from the Control Area.

The Council notes that further monitoring over a longer period will be required before any conclusions can be drawn.

Empty homes data shows no consistent improvement

The FOI response also includes data on empty and long-term empty homes within the Control Area:

• Long-term empty homes increased from 320 in September 2023 to 341 in September 2025
• Overall empty homes rose from 97 to 137, before slightly decreasing to 130

These figures do not indicate a sustained reduction in empty housing stock following the introduction of the Control Area.

Second homes decline but no causal link established

The number of second homes within the Control Area decreased from 722 in September 2023 to 641 in September 2025.

However, the Council provides no analysis linking this change directly to the Planning Control Area, and no conclusions are drawn regarding causation.

No formal evaluation of effectiveness

The Council confirms that no additional evaluations, reviews or monitoring reports assessing the effectiveness of the Planning Control Area have been undertaken beyond the referenced committee report.

This means that, to date, there is:

• No comprehensive impact assessment
• No defined success metrics
• No established evidence of policy effectiveness

Wider context

These findings reflect similar FOI disclosures in Edinburgh, where no measurable housing benefit from the Short-Term Let Control Area has been identified. Read more here.

Conclusion

The Highland FOI response does not provide evidence that the Planning Control Area has materially improved housing supply or affordability.

Instead, it highlights a fundamental reality:

• limited and short-term datasets
• a lack of analysis across key housing indicators
• and the absence of a formal evaluation framework

As discussions continue around the use and potential expansion of Planning Control Areas, the findings underline the importance of robust, evidence-based policymaking grounded in measurable housing outcomes, ensuring that short-term lets are not used as convenient scapegoats or political footballs.