October 2020 - Page 9 of 10

Sectoral Survey into the Impact of Licensing on the Self-Catering Sector Across Scotland

Posted on October 15, 2020September 11, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC has revealed the findings of the survey on the Scottish Government’s short-term let consultation, and the likely impact of its proposed licensing scheme.

The ASSC has numerous concerns about the proposed regulations, believing that they will have profoundly negative consequences for the £723m self-catering sector.

Our survey on the consultation elicited nearly 1,200 responses and provided useful insights from an important component part of Scotland’s tourism offering.

95% believe that the regulations should be delayed whilst the sector recovers from Covid-19 and the same number believe the regulations require greater parliamentary scrutiny.
83% oppose the proposed licensing scheme for short-term lets, while 68% are not supportive of short-term let control zones.
Around a third (31%) of businesses would be rendered unviable if the current proposals for a licensing were introduced, while two-thirds (64%) felt it would have a negative impact.
Nearly half (49%) would leave the self-catering sector if the proposed licensing scheme was introduced and of those 33% would leave the property empty or use it for family & friends.
Respondents maintained that the impact of the regulations would not be limited to self-catering. Respondents were of the view that the impact of the proposed licensing scheme would also entail negative knock-on effects for supply chains, such as hospitality (89%), local activity providers (83%) and local attractions (85%). 66% feel that it would have a detrimental impact on guests.
The short-term let consultation takes place at a precarious time for self-caterers in Scotland. 94% of respondents have stated an estimated negative financial impact of Covid-19 to their business, while 63% are feeling pessimistic about their business right now.

Our members are clear that the current proposals are not fit for purpose, do not provide a proportionate and balanced regulatory framework, and are a real threat to their livelihoods. ASSC members are professional operators who are a longstanding presence in their communities – but particularly in rural and remote areas – providing an economic benefit for the local area and businesses. Given the devastating impact that Covid-19 has had on tourism, they are perplexed as to why this consultation and the regulations are proceeding at such a rapid pace given all that has occurred over the past 6-7 months, and when similar legislation (for example, the tourist tax) has been postponed due to the pandemic.

We remain greatly concerned that the haste of this work will not result in a well-designed and proportionate regulatory framework and could be one which may have negative consequences for our sector and Scottish tourism as a whole. The ASSC wants to work with the Scottish Government and MSPs to ensure a balanced and proportionate approach for business, tourism and local communities and would welcome the opportunity to speak with you on how we can achieve just that.

Read the full results: ASSC licensing survey

Read the press release.

Parliamentary Questions Tabled regarding Short-Term Lets

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

Parliamentary Questions Answered:

Question S5W-32143: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its Programme for Government advising that plans for the Transient Visitor Levy have been put on hold due to COVID-19, and that “future consideration of the levy will take account of the changed context the industry is operating in”, for what reason a similar approach was not extended to its proposals on short-term let regulation. Current Status: Expected Answer date 27/10/2020

Kevin Stewart: COVID-19 has exacerbated and heightened existing tensions around short-term lets in certain areas. At the heart of our licensing scheme is a set of mandatory standards which will help to protect the safety of guests and neighbours in short-term lets across Scotland. Therefore, it is right that we are taking action in this session to move forward with these safety standards and address what is a pressing issue for some local communities.

Subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, the licensing scheme and control area regulations will be in force by April 2021. However, local authorities will have until April 2022 to establish a licensing scheme in their area and open it to receive applications. We are not placing additional requirements on hosts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In due course, hosts will need to make an application for a licence to their local authority. However, existing hosts will be able to continue operating whilst their licence application is processed.

Question S5W-32139: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a business regulatory impact assessment to accompany its plans to introduce short-term let licensing and planning control areas.

Kevin Stewart: We are undertaking a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) which will be laid at the Scottish Parliament with the statutory instruments for the short-term lets licensing scheme and planning control areas.

Question S5W-32142: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered piloting its proposed short-term let regulations before implementation.

Kevin Stewart: We will not be piloting these proposals. We want to make progress in this Parliament to address a pressing issue for some of our communities and, to do this, we are aiming to lay secondary legislation in December. However, we will be encouraging and facilitating local authorities to learn from each other’s experiences in establishing control areas and operating a licensing scheme.

We will monitor and evaluate the impact of our proposals to ensure that they are effective and targeted. We are willing to bring a Bill to Parliament in the next session if we continue to see issues, but to do so now would result in unnecessary delay.

Question S5W-32141: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its short-term let consultation will be live for four weeks and not the standard 12, and what its position is on whether this timescale will allow stakeholders to properly engage with the process.

Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has been working on proposals for the regulation of short-term lets since 2018. We first consulted in summer 2019 for twelve weeks, and published the results of both that consultation exercise and the independent research we commissioned in October 2019. We announced our proposals for a licensing scheme, planning control areas and a review of taxation in January 2020. Unfortunately, work on implementing these proposals had to be suspended from March to July 2020 to deal with the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We had originally planned for a longer period of engagement on our proposals in autumn 2020 but the timetable has had to be compressed in order to ensure that the secondary legislation could still be laid at the Scottish Parliament in this session.

We have set out detailed proposals for secondary legislation in this second consultation paper and, despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, officials are managing to hold effective virtual workshops with stakeholders representing all interests. These workshops are flushing out useful points for consideration and we had already received over 500 consultation responses on-line by close Monday 12 October.

We have to balance the need to have as fulsome consideration of the proposals as possible against the need to make progress, all in the context of a pandemic. On balance, we are not convinced that extra time is merited to consider the proposals further. We want to use the powers that we have to make progress in this Parliament to address this issue.

Question S5W-32140: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its short-term let consultation document makes no reference to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector.

Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has been supporting the tourism and hospitality sector through the pandemic in every way possible, given the limits of devolved power. We are planning for a recovery of the tourism sector. Regulation of short-term lets is part of ensuring a responsible and sustainable approach to tourism, which better balances the benefits of tourism with wider community needs and concerns. This regulation is important irrespective of COVID-19, which is why the detailed proposals make no reference to it. We have been engaging with a wide range of tourism and other stakeholders on our detailed proposals so that we can ensure they are robust but proportionate and fair.

Andy Wightman (Lothian) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning on 8 January 2020 that “we will review the tax treatment of short-term lets to ensure that they make an appropriate contribution to the communities that they operate in” (Official Report, c.37), what progress has been made with this review, and when the results will be published. (S5W-31815)

Kevin Stewart: Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we prioritised preparing the statutory instruments for the licensing scheme and short-term let control areas so that they can be considered by the Scottish Parliament in this session and deferred the review of the tax treatment of short-term lets. We are now considering how to complete the review in light of the evolving COVID-19 situation.

STL Licensing: Letter to the Scottish Government Concerning Edinburgh

Posted on October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

The following letter was sent from one of our Edinburgh based members to the Scottish Government in response to the consultation into proposals for Short-Term Let licensing and Control Zones:

Dear Short-Term Let Delivery Group,

I was invited by Fiona Campbell of the ASSC to take part in the STL consultation workshop on 2^nd October but I was unable to attend unfortunately, hence why I’m emailing you.

I understand that you are anxious to get this right, so I want to share my own extensive knowledge and experience. I doubt there’s anyone in Edinburgh who understands short term letting here as well as I do. There are many things in the consultation which I agree with – safety and stopping overcrowding being the mains ones and in fact when I first read it, I hoped that this could be a way to stamp a professional mark on my industry. Over the past couple of years, I’ve spoken at a conference organised by The Cockburn Association and been interviewed by the BBC, The Times and The Guardian about short term letting in Edinburgh. No one from the Scottish Government has ever been in contact with me to talk to me about my industry.

I’ve been involved in short term letting in Edinburgh, through my business, Dickins, for 23 years. I have an office on Dundas Street and today employ six people including myself. I say today, because after the end of October, that may not be the case. I pay taxes and my business also supports housekeepers, window cleaners, plumbers, heating engineers, handymen etc. In those 23 years, I’ve witnessed huge changes in my marketplace. But I have never felt concern like I do today.

In this moment, with Covid19 decimating the travel and tourism industry in cities across the whole world as well as here in Scotland, you’d hope as an impacted local professional business that the Scottish Government would have your back. But, instead of having our back, it feels like you have this industry, which contributes £50m to the local economy and £723m across the whole of Scotland, down on the ground with a boot on our neck. In the coming months you’ll decide whether to give it a final shove, extinguishing the life from it completely. It’s quite extraordinary when you think about it. Scotland’s own Government seeking to damage its tourism and hospitality industry.

My concerns are numerous and widespread:-

Despite consultations and papers, does The Scottish Government actually understand the differences and complexities of this industry? From what I read and hear, I don’t feel confident it does.
Have you considered the economic impact of your proposals (BRIA) which I understand you are required to do by law?
Why would The Scottish Government be considering steps which go completely against the Scottish Tourism Strategy for 2030?
Why is a consultation of this magnitude and potential impact being rushed through in four weeks as a statutory instrument not requiring parliamentary approval but decided by committee? This seems even stranger when so much legislation is currently being delayed. Why the rush with this?
Have you considered the real life impact of this proposed legislation? I will go on to give examples.
There is no mention of Covid19 in the consultation. Has the Scottish Government considered the impact of Covid19 on where people want to live going forward? It is unlikely to be in small flats in the centre of cities.
Why are you not choosing to use legislation which already exists (Anti Social Behaviour, Fire Safety etc) to solve problems?
Why the Isle of Man Registration System which appears to be fit for purpose and cost effective not being used here?
The impact on Edinburgh’s economy, standing in the world and its world class Festivals that the message you’re not welcome to stay in homes here will give.
Why is this not being phased with Registration coming first which would allow you to understand actual rather than anecdotal evidence and then move onto Licensing if there is a clear evidence based requirement for it?
Giving Edinburgh Council, which is clearly biased against my industry, carte blanche to create its own set of rules especially around letting within tenements
If the problem is rogue hosts/owners in Edinburgh with party flats who care about profit and not their neighbours, then why don’t you target them specifically? It’s so easy to find them – a 10 minute google search will flush them out. That would be SO much easier than the changes you are proposing.

I started my business letting homes for the Festival 23 years ago. What we do in Edinburgh is fairly unique. We haven’t gone down the route of very short stays booked via portals. We believe strongly in the need for balance. We understand and respect the needs of residents, because we’re residents here too. We understand that a delicate balance is required between the needs of residents, business and visitors to the city so that it works for everyone.

The following things are and have always been the case for Dickins.

Many of the homes we look after are second homes, so they are being made available for the time the owners aren’t using them rather than being closed up and empty. The owners have connections to Edinburgh or just love spending time here. They care about their homes and want respectful guests staying in them who will take care of them and not cause any issues for neighbours.
The homes we look after are in very good condition and great quality.
We specialise in providing temporary housing solutions – mid term rentals of four weeks plus. We used to call these short lets as opposed to holiday lets, and the Festival.
We don’t advertise any sofa beds, so there’s no over occupation in any of our homes.
We don’t allow any stag or hen nights or parties.
We have a 24 hour emergency phone for guests/owners and neighbours.
We don’t use any lockboxes apart from one outside our office which is necessary for current CV19 check ins and I’m working remotely in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines.
None of our housekeepers are allowed to leave any laundry in stairwells.
We ask our owners to let their neighbours know that we are their agent and owners report that neighbours are reassured that we’ll be managing the home for them. We always play our part in any stair related matters.
We have received not one single complaint from a neighbour in the past year and the only complaint I can remember before that was a neighbour complaining about the sound of a crying baby.
We are members of the ASSC
We market Edinburgh to the world through our blog and social media. We’re doing a better job of that than Marketing Edinburgh at the moment!https://www.dickins.co.uk/blog/

In the past couple of months we have housed:-

The new German Consul whilst he looked for a permanent home.
An executive relocating from England to work for Baillie Gifford, whilst he looks for a new home.
An executive relocating from the States to work for Dexcom.
An international VIP businessman with significant business interests in the city.
Several families who need temporary housing due to insurance work on their own homes.
Several families who need temporary housing whilst they have refurbishment work done on their own homes.
Several people who need a temporary home whilst they wait for their own new build home to be finished.
Several digital nomads who work from home and can work anywhere in the world and love Scotland.

Some of these guests have stayed in homes with their own front door and others are staying in homes within stairwells. They want to rent a home from us which is fully equipped and where the price is fully inclusive so they don’t need to set up any utilities etc. They also want and indeed need, to be able to plan ahead and the long term letting alternative does not allow for that.

Currently I’m talking to the following people who want to book in advance:-

Fulbright Scholars from the US who want to book their accommodation in Edinburgh for their stay here in 2021.
A film company who need accommodation for their staff from November until next July and then 20 more homes from February until July next year.
People who want to book accommodation for the Festival in 2021

It would be completely insane for Edinburgh if these people above were not able to stay in homes with us. What is your plan for where they would be able to stay if Edinburgh Council does not allow non PRT lets in stairwells?

The Festival is an area of major concern for me. I provide all the apartments for the Edinburgh International Festival, as well as working closely with performers and major venues. The International Festival office and Fringe venues all book accommodation for more than 28 days for their staff – often it’s around 8 weeks as they need to be here for the set up and take down too. Performers who are here for the whole month, tend to book accommodation for 31 nights and not 28. There seems to be no provision for this within the proposed regulations. Where are you thinking these people working and performing in the festival should stay? The Festival is already facing a housing crisis but your proposals could mean that it just can’t function. Here’s a blog I wrote on the festival housing crisis in 2019. https://www.dickins.co.uk/blog/news/the-crisis-threatening-the-future-of-the-edinburgh-festival/

The Old Town has changed and evolved since it was built. The Canongate, built containing huge houses of important people, fell into decline after the Act of Union diminished the need to be near Holyrood. It then went into decline and by the 1930’s this once great street had become a slum. The tourists came along and the area is regenerated again. The decline in the desire of locals to live in the Old Town has been happening over the past 25 years.https://www.dickins.co.uk/blog/news/tourism-and-edinburgh-what-future/ It’s not a practical place to live now. There are so few facilities for residents. What studies have been done to demonstrate a significant demand from people to live in the Old Town if many more apartments became available to let long term? The home I mention in my blog above which was closed down by Edinburgh Council has gone on to be rented by students. How is that a good result? Students have so much housing provision already.

During Covid, we’ve all thought differently about our homes as we’ve spent so much time in them. Having outdoor space has never been more important. Everyone looking at a potential new home will think, could I do a lockdown here? I cannot see any basis where the demand to live in the Old Town will increae. I think the opposite will be true. In Edinburgh we have a unique opportunity to maintain a life in parts of our cities where residents prefer not to stay, supporting many local businesses as visitors tend to eat out and spend money in a way they don’t when they’re at home. In that respect, we’re the envy of so many city centres which do not have the potential/demand for life in their city centres in the way that Edinburgh does. We have a solution to this problem. And it would be ironic if we take that solution and smash it with a sledgehammer.

I find it exasperating, that me and my professional team, our owners and guests are being thrown in the same pot and treated in the same way as people renting vastly over occupied flats to stag and hen nights for two nights at a time like this https://www.henedinburgh.com/ It’s exasperating as we couldn’t be coming at this from a more different perspective. But I don’t feel at all confident that you understand that. Do you understand the huge differences between professional operators like me and private individuals using portals to maximise profit? Reading endless negative press about my industry is depressing too, because so many people I see around me are doing a world class job. Look at the ASSC and everything they do so professionally and with such rigour. Just look at the way as an industry we have nimbly reacted to the significant responsibilities we now face with cleaning and Covid19 providing safe places for people to stay and holiday. Your proposed legislation is all about solving so called problems with my industry. But how many of those problems have been verified as being true? So much change is being demanded based on anecdotal hearsay and potential grievance.

This is feedback from a guest we’re helping with accommodation during an insurance job on her home.

“Thank you for being so accommodating to my needs. It is greatly appreciated. Albeit this has been a stressful time for me, your help and superb accommodation has been very much welcomed!”

There are solutions which will ensure safety, allow Edinburgh to continue to flourish, allow our world class tourism and hospitality sectors to recover and thrive again. Solutions that support jobs and livelihoods, our economy, the lives of residents. Scotland is a country that people love and will always want to visit. But they want to have a choice of where they stay. If the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council creates legislation that means they no longer have choice, many thousands will choose to go elsewhere in the world and the impact on our nation will be seismic and long lasting.

In this email I have highlighted the huge potential for unintended consequence with this legislation, especially as it is being so unnecessarily rushed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’d be delighted to speak to you if you felt that was useful. I hope that I’ve highlighted aspects of the implications of this legislation which you may not have considered and will consider making changes before it is too late.

Kind regards,

Louise Dickins

Managing Director, Dickins

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