The Scottish Government does not intend to abandon its licensing scheme for Airbnbs and other short term lets, nor to delay its implementation any further, a politician claims.
The future of proposed controls was thrown into doubt last month when a court decision appeared to stop a local authority bid to strictly regulate Airbnb-style short lets with licenses.
Edinburgh council wanted to introduce the licensing scheme following complaints about the high number of short-term lets in the Scottish capital. Opponents of Airbnb claimed that short lets fuelled housing shortages and led to increased anti-social behaviour.
Short let landlords in the Scottish capital had until October 1 to apply for a licence, with people who list whole properties on sites such as Airbnb also needing planning permission. However, a group of landlords in Edinburgh took the city council to court and following a two-day hearing at the Court of Session, Lord Braid agreed that part of the proposal was unlawful.
Now, six weeks later, a Scottish housing minister – Paul McLennan – insists the increased regulation is still on course.
He told a Scottish Parliament committee that the licensing scheme itself had not been challenged, but only its implementation by Edinburgh council.
McLennan is quoted in the Scottish media as saying: “It remains our view that licensing of short-term lets can be operated effectively by councils so as to respect the rights of hosts and guests in short-term let accommodation, and is appropriate for the whole of Scotland.
“It is important to highlight that [Edinburgh] council still has an operational licensing scheme and we understand it plans to quickly update its information for applicants … particularly existing hosts that will be applying before 1 October 2023” – that was the deadline for hosts to be allowed to continue operating while their application is being determined.
“I am therefore minded not to extend the transitional deadline … [and the Scottish Government] “continues to be proactive in working with licensing authorities to harmonise consistent operational approaches where possible” says the minister.