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Category: Legislation

FOI to Local Authorities

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The following Freedom of Information Request has been submitted to each local authority in Scotland today:

To whom it may concern, 

I am contacting you in order make a FOI request under The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Please may you provide me with information in respect of the following questions: 

  • Is the council’s short-term let licensing scheme currently open to all types of short-term let accommodation provider?
  • How many short-term let licensing applications have you received in total and then broken down by: (a) home sharing; (b) home letting; and (c) secondary letting?
  • How many short-term let licences have been (a) granted; and (b) rejected?
  • What short-term let licensing fees have been collected so far?

If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this correspondence. I would be grateful if you could confirm that you have received this request.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Yours faithfully,

Fiona Campbell

CEO ASSC

Brodies LLP Legal Opinion: Requirement for Planning Permission

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

ASSC Key Points Briefing: Brodies LLP Legal Opinion (November 2022)

  • In November 2022, Brodies LLP – a leading law firm in the UK – prepared a legal opinion for the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers regarding planning requirements for short-term holiday letting. You may find this opinion useful in response to any concerns raised by a planning authority regarding your property.
  • The paper opines that the requirement for planning permission for short-term holiday letting depends on whether the premises are situated within a short-term let control area. Licensing requirements are not made under the planning legislation and are not relevant to determining whether planning permission is necessary.
  • In all other areas, planning permission is not necessarily required for a change of use to short-term holiday accommodation. In fact, the question of a change in material use depends on the individual circumstances of each premises and planning authorities must take this into account.

Log into the members area for further detail and to download the full opinion.