Guidance Archives - Page 12 of 33

How Many Licences Will you Need?

Posted on September 14, 2022February 6, 2025 by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC has received clarity from the Scottish Government regarding the number of licences that will be required per business.

This clarity is most welcome.

Accommodation located within a single premises can be covered by a single licence as set out in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022:

Designation of activity

4.—(1) The activity specified in paragraph (2) is designated as an activity for which a licence under Part 1 of the 1982 Act is required.

(2) The activity referred to in paragraph (1) is a short-term let on or after 1 October 2022.

(3) Accommodation that is on a single premises requires only one short-term let licence.

The provision applies to accommodation with shared facilities (such as yurts) or standalone accommodation, such as park lodges, provided they are all on the same premises.

Further details on the provisions within the Licensing Order are included in the policy note para’s 51 – 55, and guidance Pt.1 para 8.3:

8.3. You need a licence for each premises in which you let out accommodation. Premises means accommodation and land on one site; normally premises have their own postal address. So, for example, two neighbouring cottages are likely to be separate premises (each will require a licence), whereas 15 yurts in one field are likely to be counted as one premises (requiring one licence in total).

Where the premises (accommodation and land) are all contained on one site (the same postal address – to note this is different to the same postcode), then this would be considered a single premises requiring only 1 licence to cover all the accommodation units on the site.

Examples of where a single licence would be permissible:

	Example	Comment
	Five purpose built self-catering cottages located on a single site	All five accommodation units are on a single site, and therefore considered a single premises eligible to apply for a single licence.
	Two cottages within a farm	Provided the two cottages are all within the one site, then a single licence could be issued. If the two cottages have separate postal addresses, or are listed on Registers of Scotland as two separate sites then two individual licences will be required.
	Bed and breakfast / home share arrangement where 2 bedrooms are let in a primary residence	The 2 bedrooms are 2 separately lettable accommodation units within a single premises (one primary residence), therefore a single licence would be required.

Examples where a single licence would not be permissible:

	Example	Comment
	Tenement block with 6 flats, all flats owned by the same owner and all let out as secondary lets.	Each flat is a separate premises, as there are 6 accommodation units all on separate sites (all have their own postal address). Each flat requires a separate licence.
	Two neighbouring detached houses owned by the same owner and let out as secondary lets.	Each house is a separate premises, as they are located on separate sites with different postal addresses, therefore a licence would be required for each house.
	A field with 10 permanent lodges at one end of a village, and another field with 5 permanent lodges at the other end of the village	This arrangement constitutes two separate premises, as the lodges are located on two separate sites. A licence would be required for each premises.
	Guest house / B&B / home sharing type arrangement with a separately bookable annex (secondary let) within the same site.	Although located on a single site, the accommodation would require two different licence types (home sharing licence and secondary letting licence). Therefore two separate licences would be required: Home sharing for the guest house / B&B / home share primary residence; Secondary letting licence for the garden annex;

North Ayrshire Short-Term Let Licensing

Posted on September 12, 2022February 6, 2025 by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC has received a note to all respondents to the North Ayrshire Council Short-Term Lets Licensing Policy Statement consultation:

It was intended that the draft Licensing Policy Statement would be discussed at the Licensing Committee meeting set for Wednesday 14 September 2022. However the consultation on the draft LPS has received an unprecedented amount of public comment, raising many issues, so in order to give the matter proper consideration the Convenor has directed that the matter will instead be discussed at a Special Meeting of the Licensing Committee, to be set just for this. That Special Meeting is likely to be on Tuesday 27 September 2022.

The date and time of that Special Meeting, and the agenda and related documents, will be available on the Council website:

https://north-ayrshire.cmis.uk.com/north-ayrshire/CommitteesMeetings/Committees/tabid/62/ctl/ViewCMIS_CommitteeDetails/mid/381/id/142/Default.aspx

The meeting will be open to the public.

In order to assist ‘Existing Hosts’ to benefit from the special rules which allow ‘Existing Hosts’ to benefit from the special rules which allow Hosts who are currently using particular accommodation without a Licence (these are called “Transitional Provisions”), the Council will soon be adding to their website:

https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/business/licences-and-permits/short-term-let-licence.aspx

details of a free-of-charge non-statutory scheme to assist “Existing Hosts” by issuing ‘letters of comfort’.

The website will include a Request Form which ‘Existing Hosts’ can use to ask the Council to confirm their ‘Existing Host’ status in relation to particular accommodation. The Council are setting-up this procedure so that the Hosts will have an ‘official’ document to show guests, listings agencies and insurance companies that they are currently entitled to operate without a Licence. The Council are doing this without any legal obligation to do so.

It is important to note that:

the Request Form is not a ‘licence application’,
the Confirmation (if issued) is not a ‘licence’,
the issue of Confirmation does not remove the Host’s need to apply for a Licence no later than 31 March 2023, and
the Confirmation can only apply to the particular accommodation described in the request (it is possible that a person might be an ‘Existing Host’ in relation to one house, but not in relation to another).

What happens after that date depends on what the Hosts do:

If they apply for a Licence for that accommodation no later than 31 March 2023, they can continue operating without a Licence for as long as it takes the Council to make a decision on their applications;
If they don’t, they must stop operating until and unless the Council has granted their applications.

Regards,

Chris Pollock

Licensing Administration Officer

North Ayrshire Council

Sent on behalf of Raymond Lynch

Senior Manager (Legal Services)

Clerk to the Licensing Committee

North Ayrshire Council

Mourning guidance following the death of Her Majesty The Queen

Posted on September 10, 2022February 6, 2025 by Fiona Campbell

Guidance for the mourning period following the announcement from Buckingham Palace of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.

Following the announcement by Buckingham Palace of the death of Her Majesty The Queen a period of National Mourning will start immediately and will continue until the end of the day of the State Funeral.

There is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the National Mourning period. Depending on the nature and location of your business and the tone of planned events, some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the State Funeral, however this is at the discretion of individual businesses.

You may wish to consider:

arrangements made by local authorities to lay floral or memorial tributes
whether your business location is likely to be impacted by arrangements made by local authorities, or official ceremonies and events planned, and plan in your response / communicate with your customers
consider any changes you might wish to make to your website and social media activities

Mourning Period

The Royal Household will release details of the State Funeral for Her Majesty The Queen and associated events. Details of these announcements will be available on the Royal website at www.royal.uk.

Matters related to the Demise of the Crown involve a fine balance between the sensitive expression of respect and sympathy and the need to ensure that delivery of services to the public continue. The principles outlined in this document are intended to strike that balance.