The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) launched a Scotland-wide campaign today which strongly criticised the ongoing claims from certain sectors of national and local government that Scotland’s housing emergency has been caused by legitimate owners of self-catering properties.
The campaign, which highlights the issue of elected representatives and officials scapegoating the sector while, at the same time, a far greater number of available properties lie empty across Scotland, launched in Edinburgh this morning, with stops outside Edinburgh City Chambers, as well as Holyrood.
The campaign will continue this week with stops encompassing Glasgow, Helensburgh, Inverness, Perth and Glenrothes, as well as the two previous stops in Edinburgh.
Self-caterers have become an easy target for lazy attempts to scapegoat the sector, rather than deal with the real issues at hand; utilising empty properties and building more affordable housing. The Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers would rather deal in facts, which are:
· Self-catering = 0.8% of housing stock, Scotland wide, while empty properties = 3.6%
· Self-catering contributes £864 million to the Scottish economy
· Self-catering supports 29,324 jobs
It’s time to set the record straight. Let’s talk facts – not fiction.
It is clear that housing needs will not be met by penalising tourism microbusinesses. Instead, they will be met by building homes, tackling second homes, and taking an evidence-led approach.
Fiona Campbell MBE, CEO of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said:
“Hard-pressed self-catering operators will be experiencing more than a little sense of déjà vu as their sector is once again scapegoated for a shortage of homes. Recycling the same tired calls for even stricter controls on short-term lets, despite no evidence it will ease housing pressures, is regulatory overkill. They risk hammering a £864m self-catering sector that underpins Scottish tourism.
Our message is clear: you won’t solve a housing crisis by initiating a crisis in Scottish tourism by decimating local businesses underpinning local economies. Attention must shift to the real causes of the housing crisis and stop scapegoating self-catering.”
