Legislation Archives - Page 29 of 101

Short-Term Let PQs

Posted on January 26, 2023February 21, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

S6W-13881: Jamie Greene, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 12/01/2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) short-term lets sector and (b) hospitality sector about whether 12 months is an excessive amount of time for local authorities to process short-term lets applications, and whether there are plans to reduce this timescale.

Answered by Shona Robison: Our 2021 consultation included draft guidance explaining the rationale for licence application determination times. Licensing authorities only have 12 months to determine applications made by existing hosts (those operational before 1 October 2022) during the transitional period. This is to support licensing authorities to manage the initial volume of applications they receive. During this transitional period, existing hosts are able to continue operating whilst their application is being determined.

For new hosts (those commencing operation on or after 1 October 2022), the usual 9 month determination time set out in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 applies. We understand many local authorities are prioritising these applications to provide new hosts with a timely outcome. We have no plans to alter either timescale, however, as we have already indicated, we will conduct a review of the scheme in early 2024.

S6W-13880: Jamie Greene, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 12/01/2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff in each local authority are working on processing short-term lets licensing and applications.

Answered by Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 requires local authorities to establish and run licensing schemes for short-term lets in their areas. Information on staffing levels dedicated to short-term let licensing within each local authority will be held by individual local authorities, and vary based on a number of factors, including volume of activity and approach to physical property inspections.

S6W-13878: Jamie Greene, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 12/01/2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications local authorities have received for short-term lets licences, and how many have been (a) approved and (b) rejected.

Answered by Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12707 on 12 December 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

PQ on Delay

Posted on January 23, 2023February 21, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

S6W-13624: Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 05/01/2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether relevant stakeholders, including PLACE and community councils, were consulted before it took the decision to delay the implementation of commercial short-term let licensing by six months.

Answered by Shona Robison: We are not delaying the implementation of commercial short-term let licensing. Licensing schemes opened in October 2022, and new hosts must now apply for, and obtain, a licence before accepting bookings or receiving guests. Local authorities continue to receive applications from new and existing hosts.

In recognition of the wider cost of living crisis that is placing pressure on existing short-term let hosts and businesses, we have announced that we will introduce legislation in January 2023 to extend the deadline for existing hosts to apply for a licence from 1 April 2023 to 1 October 2023.

This is not a pause and we encourage hosts to keep applying throughout.

S6W-13625: Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 05/01/2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it is delaying the implementation of commercial short-term let licensing by six months.Answered by Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13624 on‎ 20 January 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Update on Short-Term Let Licensing

Posted on January 18, 2023February 21, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

The Scottish Government has today laid the regulations which will amend the date by which existing operators and hosts must apply for a short-term let licence from 31 March 2023 to 30 September 2023.

This affirmative Scottish Statutory Instrument will eventually be voted on by all MSPs at the Scottish Parliament.

Fiona Campbell, Chief Executive of the Association of Self-Caterers, said:

“The ASSC welcomes the fact that the Scottish Government has laid regulations amending the date by which short-term let operators must apply for a licence. We are pleased our hard work, as well as the efforts from our friends across the Scottish tourism industry, has resulted in this development. The ASSC has been pressing hard for a pause to the implementation of the scheme due to the cost-of-living crisis so it’s good to know our voices are being heard.”

“However, while this extension provides some much-needed respite for the sector during challenging times, businesses remain concerned about the impact of short-term let regulation and we will continue to engage with the government, MSPs and local councils in order to minimise the regulatory burden.”

Furthermore, the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee intend to hear oral evidence from stakeholders on the regulations on 7 February 2023 and the ASSC has been invited to participate. You can read our written submission to the Committee here.

The Scottish Government has put out the following press release.

More time to apply for short-term lets licences

Pragmatic approach to support hosts during cost of living crisis.

Recognising the pressures short-term lets hosts face at this time, legislation has been laid to extend the deadline for applying for a licence by six months to 1 October 2023.

The new deadline applies to anyone operating as a host before 1 October 2022. Anyone who started operating after that must have applied for and obtained a licence before accepting guests and bookings.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison said:

“We are taking a pragmatic approach to help support hosts in recognition of the wider cost of living crisis that is placing pressure on businesses. This one-off six-month extension will give businesses more time to spread the cost of the licence fee, and meet the scheme requirements.

“The principal component of our licencing scheme is a mandatory set of safety standards which many hosts will already be meeting as a matter of best practice or compliance with existing law. Our scheme gives local authorities the powers to strike a balance between the economic and tourism benefits of short-term lets and community concerns.

“Many hosts have already applied for a licence. I encourage those that have yet to do so to apply for a licence well in advance of the extended deadline.”

Background

New hosts must now apply for, and obtain, a licence before accepting bookings or receiving guests. Anyone who operating as a host before 1 October 2022 can operate as normal while their application is being determined.

In December 2022 the Housing Secretary issued a letter to the Housing and Planning Committee confirming the intentions to amend the deadline of the scheme in the new year.

The Scottish Government will undertake a review of levels of short-term let activity in early 2024.

We will provide further updates on developments in due course.