City of Edinburgh Council are holding a public consultation on their short-term let licensing scheme which remains open until 14th October 2024. STL licensing has been operational for two years and the Council are seeking views on how it is working for businesses and residents.
We recognise that you will have demands on your time but the ASSC would appreciate it if you could respond to this consultation exercise. To assist, we have provided this briefing which highlights some information which could help inform your submission.
The bullets are not meant to be prescriptive, merely suggestions for inclusion. Of course, the most valuable information available is from your own lived experience of navigating short-term let regulation in the city which has caused significant concern and uncertainty amongst operators.
You can participate in the consultation through City of Edinburgh Council’s consultation hub: https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/short-term-lets-2024/
Questions
Please give us your comments on the guidance on applying for a short-term let or exemption:
- Edinburgh Council’s licensing policy was found to be unlawful at the Court of Session in the first Judicial Review. That was after operators had spent thousands of pounds, for example, to carpet properties which was found to be unlawful.
- Evidence of planning status still remains unlawful.
- Has the licensing scheme for short-term lets met your expectations?
Yes
No
- It has manifestly failed to achieve its underlying policy objectives on improving health and safety, reducing instances of anti-social behaviour, or alleviating housing challenges.
- It has been burdensome and costly for professional operators (those with secondary lets have been charged huge fees which don’t appear to be based on cost recovery), administratively disastrous, and has been embroiled in legal challenges.
- A black market for STLs is evident on social media, undermining the entire purpose of licensing.
- Only 204 secondary let application granted (as of the end of July 2024).
- 98% of secondary let applications have been rejected owing to planning – without planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness, operators won’t get a licence.
- The closure of self-catering properties will damage Edinburgh’s tourist economy and its reputation as a place to do business. Frontline Consultants estimated in 2021 that self-catering boosted the local economy by £90m per annum.
5. We have already made some changes, including making the application form simpler and shorter. What else could be improved about the licensing scheme for short-term lets?
- The regulatory burden needs to be minimised and policies should be proportionate and lawful in order to provide an appropriate balance between community and tourism needs.
- The Council should meaningfully engage with stakeholders like the ASSC and consider their previously supplied policy recommendations to make the regulations work.
- Currently secondary lets can only be granted a one year licence. Now that the scheme has been operational since October 2022, we want to know if you think that secondary let licences should continue to be restricted to one year, or if applicants for renewal should be granted a longer period of three years. Please give us your reasons.
One year only (including on renewal)
Three years on renewal
Three years on renewal only if the Council has received no valid complaints about the property
- Note that the Council’s remarks in the associated text leading to this question are biased and do not show impartiality. There is no evidence that secondary letting is “used more intensively” than either homeletting or homesharing; nor is there any difference in activity/patterns of use with the secondary let and other types of property.
- Edinburgh Council is an outlier in Scotland with its one year only licensing policy. Instead, it should be subject to three years on renewal – as per the majority of Scottish councils.
- Should the Council continue to offer temporary exemptions for short-term lets? Please give us your reasons:
Yes
No
- The Council should continue to allow temporary exemptions as these may be required to respond to demands associated with large sporting or musical events, as well as the Festivals.
- However, the impact of the Council’s policy means that there isn’t really an exemption at all. Nothing has really changed with the 2024 Licensing Order as individuals would still need to comply with the mandatory conditions and secure planning – at considerable cost – all for six weeks in a year.
- Are the conditions currently attached to the grant of a temporary exemption appropriate?
Yes
No
- Should any conditions be removed from temporary exemptions? Please give us your comments:
Yes
No
- The requirements around planning should be removed.
- Please give us your comments on the fee structure for temporary exemptions:
It is cheaper compared to other fees for STLs but remains incredibly expensive.
- Mandatory condition 13 is attached to temporary exemptions – should this continue? Please give us your reasons:
Yes
No
- Mandatory condition 13 should not continue as it is unlawful.
- The Council added eight additional conditions to try to minimise the impact of short-term lets. Has this been successful? Please give us your comments:
Yes
No
- This was deemed unlawful in the Judicial Review of Edinburgh Council’s licensing policy.
- We do not believe there has been any benefit arising from the eight additional conditions and the onus should be on the Council to demonstrate their success.
- Should the public register include the names of all applicants for STL licences? Please give us your reasons:
Yes
No
AWAITING COMMENT
Please give us your comments on any other parts of the existing STL licensing scheme:
- Add in your personal experience of the licensing process.