MSPs have voted against a motion by the Scottish Conservatives to delay Scotland’s controversial short-term lets scheme, but the row still rumbles on. With the new licensing regime for short-term lets set to go live on 1 October, the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) wrote earlier this week to First Minister Humza Yousaf suggesting that the legislation may be in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights, and data protection and privacy laws.

The intervention came ahead of a failed bid by the Scottish Tories for a 12-month delay and review of the regulations, which empower local authorities to implement licensing regimes for short-term holiday letting accommodation in their areas. The aim of licensing is to regulate the huge number of properties in Scotland now offered to tourists as holiday lets, which critics say is having a detrimental impact on housing supply for local residents and causing anti-social behaviour in certain areas.

However, representatives of the self-catering industry say the cost and complexity of securing a licence in certain areas is causing operators of small outlets such as B&Bs and guest houses to leave the industry in droves. It was estimated that just 20% of the estimated 32,000 short-term lets in Scotland had applied for a licence by 31 August.