Local councils in Scotland are to be given new powers to control Airbnb-style short-term lets, the Scottish Government has announced.

Local Government Minister Kevin Stewart told MSPs a new licensing scheme would be introduced, control zones would be created and the tax treatment of short-term lets would be reviewed. The move was immediately welcomed by Edinburgh council chiefs as giving them the powers they needed to tackle an issue that has been a long-running concern in the city.
Stewart said there would be wide consultation on the measures, which are expected to come into force in spring 2021. He added that the government wanted local authorities to be empowered to balance the needs of their communities with wider economic and tourism interests.

“There has been a dramatic rise in the number of short-term lets in Scotland over the last few years. A substantial part of the growth is in whole-property rentals and
this has caused concern in some areas of Scotland about the impact on local communities and the availability of housing for permanent residents”, said Stewart.

But he also said that short-term lets were an important source of flexible accommodation for tourists and workers and helped support the growth of Scotland’s tourism industry, adding that the government had received over 1,000 responses to its consultation on the issue and consultation events had been held with residents, businesses, guests, hosts, platforms and local authorities.

He said the licensing scheme for short-term lets would help councils to know what was happening in their area, improve safety and handle complaints effectively. Safety requirements would be a mandatory condition on licences, but councils would have discretion to impose additional conditions, for example on littering or overcrowding of properties. And councils would also be able to charge a fee for administering the scheme and enforcing it.