Scotland’s Tourism Accommodation Register (STAR) is an innovative industry leading scheme designed to enable robust data capture of the Health & Safety compliance of accommodation providers in Scotland. It also provides evidence of the scale and regional distribution of the sector. STAR is a proportionate approach and appropriate for the whole of the Scotland.
About the Register
Short-term letting (STL) has, and continues to have, a positive impact for locals and visitors alike but it is considered to require regulation, and a collaborative approach between providers, government and affected stakeholders to mitigate any issues that have been identified in recent times.
Building on previous policy recommendations and engagement with the Scottish Government, the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has set out a series of solutions to the main issues identified, which can assist the Scottish Government as they take forward the details of their proposed Licensing of STLs and help inform the regulations.
- The STAR scheme will address several of the concerns that have been raised about short-term lets by balancing the rights and interest of local communities with those of the short-term letting industry.
- Covid-19 underlines the need for regulation of the short-term lets and the ASSC intend to replicate the responsible and industry-leading approach taken with sectoral reopening to the issue of regulation overall.
STAR seeks to support the Scottish Government’s commitment to regulate the short-term rental sector in Scotland. Overall, it aims to:
- Ensure the responsible growth and sustainability of the self-catering industry
- Strike an appropriate balance for the tourist economy, visitors and local residents
- Provide a proportionate, evidence-based and future proofed solution for national and local government
- Provide consumer protection for visitors using short-term lets in Scotland.
ASSC Members Operating Agreement and Code of Conduct
Members of the ASSC confirm their Commitment to Quality, the ASSC’s Quality Assurance scheme. This is enshrined in the ASSC Members Operating Agreement along with the Code of Conduct which signposts members to legal compliance and best practice. This is a self-regulatory scheme, which comes at no additional cost to members.
The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) launched its Code of Conduct in 2017, aimed at improving standards in the industry and encouraging best practice and we would strongly recommend a wider adoption of this Code of Conduct by short-term letting agencies, owners, managers and online platforms. The Code of Conduct signposts to legal compliance as well as best practice. It is a self-regulatory code in the same sense that the Highway Code is a self-regulatory framework for road users: highlighting legal compliance and best practice.
STAR registration is now open
We are delighted to announce the STAR scheme is now open and accepting registrations.