Highland Council has agreed to move forward with consultations on five proposed Short-Term Let Control Areas (STLCAs) across the Highlands: Lochaber; Sutherland; the City of Inverness; Skye and Raasay; and Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.
The decision follows discussions at Area Committees over recent months and signals the potential expansion of planning restrictions on short-term let operators in some of Scotland’s most tourism-reliant communities.
Short-term let businesses are overwhelmingly small, locally owned businesses that support jobs, sustain fragile rural economies, and contribute significantly to the visitor economy. In many Highland communities, they form part of the social and economic fabric, helping to retain services and year-round employment.
Expanding control areas without clear proof of effectiveness risks penalising responsible operators while failing to tackle the structural drivers of housing pressure – including second homes, long-term empty properties and chronic undersupply of housing.
Fiona Campbell MBE, CEO of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said:
“This plan scapegoats responsible local businesses while doing nothing to address the real issues underlying housing challenges: be it second homes, the increasing number of economically inactive empty properties and lack of housing supply. Until Highland Council can provide clear and unambiguous evidence that its existing control area is working in delivering measurable improvement in housing availability or affordability, and that it has not generated unintended consequences, then there should be no further expansion of this policy elsewhere in the Highlands.”
The ASSC will closely scrutinise the consultation evidence and will actively encourage members and stakeholders to engage in the process. Policymaking must be proportionate, evidence-led and mindful of unintended consequences – particularly in rural and island communities where tourism is a cornerstone of economic resilience.