URGENT CALL TO ACTION: Short-Term Let Licensing for Self-Caterers, B&Bs, Guest Houses, Glamping and other Short-Term Let Accommodation

Posted on July 19, 2021February 2, 2023 by Melanie Allen

URGENT CALL TO ACTION: Short-Term Let Licensing for Self-Caterers, B&Bs, Guest Houses, Glamping and other Short-Term Let Accommodation

PLEASE READ AND ACT: THIS WILL VERY SERIOUSLY AFFECT YOUR FUTURE BUSINESS IF NOT STOPPED

As you know, last February the Scottish Government’s proposed self-catering licensing regulations were pulled at the last minute before the election in response to the high level of individual objections and by the reasoned concerns of the ASSC and other major tourism stakeholders.

The Scottish Government then promised to engage with, and listen to, our industry through the Short-Term Let Working Group involving the ASSC and other stakeholders, with a view to introducing amended regulations this summer. Through the Working Group, the ASSC, with unprecedented industry support, submitted detailed and practical proposals for meeting the Scottish Government’s policy objectives on short-term let regulation through setting up a robust mandatory registration scheme.

Sadly, this engagement only paid lip service to our industry. The Scottish Government rejected the ASSC’s proposals out of hand without any proper explanation. Now, in a new consultation – incidentally, their third in recent years – they have simply restated their original licensing proposals with a few amendments that, if anything, make the proposals worse for self-catering operators and the other tourism businesses that have now been caught in the legislation – this includes B&B’s, small guest houses and even yurts!

Scot Gov: Reference to excluded accommodation Part 1. Guidance for Hosts and Operators

When the ASSC surveyed over 1000 members, nearly half of owners said they would close their businesses if licensing was introduced. Moreover, around two-thirds of those who would close said they would keep the property as a second home and for friends, no doubt with significantly reduced nightly occupancy rate relative to use for self-catering.

There are many reasons why owners will close –

Uncertainty over licence being granted: councils will have very subjective grounds to refuse licence – and could grant licence then refuse renewal. Appeals against refusal would involve substantial legal costs and more uncertainty.
Owners will have to make advance bookings made during the licence application period conditional on licence being granted (which will put off guests) or risk being sued if they don’t and licence not granted – and this will be repeated every 3 years when licence has to be renewed.
Increased bureaucracy and hassle: disproportionately affecting small business owners who are the backbone of Scotland’s tourist economy.
Investment uncertainty: owners will be reluctant to invest in major repairs, replacements and improvements as they won’t know whether licence will be granted or renewed.
Unknown and open-ended licensing costs, estimated as £1k plus – councils have to recover their costs from the scheme and operators will face additionally paying Council for inspections.

Introducing licensing will result in significant damage to Scotland’s tourist industry, including the businesses that provide services to property owners, and, in turn, to local economies. The irony is that the Scottish Government are pushing ahead with this when we are trying to recover from the economic damage of Covid-19 and for the longer term, and when staycations are being encouraged for sustainability/environmental reasons.

But none of this is inevitable. The Scottish Government have in the past changed policies if there is enough public pressure. They temporarily withdrew the original Licensing Order because of a high level of negative responses. There is a chance they will do so again – but only if there is an unprecedented level of concern.

That is why, if you agree with the ASSC’s analysis and are concerned for the future of your business, we would kindly ask you to do 3 things:

Respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation by Friday 13 August 2021 using the following link: https://consult.gov.scot/housing-and-social-justice/short-term-lets-draft-licensing-order-and-bria/consultation/subpage.2016-07-07.1474135251/
Contact your regional and constituency MSPs in the first instance and then local authority councillors highlighting the problems with the regulations (copy and paste your consultation response) and explaining the likely impact on your business and local supply chain etc. You can find your MSPs using the postcode checker tool on the Scottish Parliament website:https://beta.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps
In the correspondence above, please copy us in: communications@assc.co.uk

If following the consultation, the Scottish Government decide to proceed with their regulations, an updated Licensing Order will be introduced in the Scottish Parliament and considered by a parliamentary committee before the Order is voted on by all MSPs. You will be invited to raise your concerns directly with the Committee – we will advise on the procedure and deadline when appropriate.

We have prepared a briefing paper providing a full background and explaining the issues in detail and concerns referred to above.

Read and Download the Briefing Paper HERE: Briefing on STL consultation – 19.7.21

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WATCH the Recording of our Webinar (Tuesday 20th July)

Scottish Government Licensing Proposals for Self-Caterers, B&Bs, Guest Houses, Glamping and other Short-Term Lets: What You Need to Know

Autumn Talks Videos

Posted on December 8, 2020February 2, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

AUTUMN TALKS VIDEOS

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unparalleled challenges and uncertainty for us all. While our sector has behaved in an exemplary fashion, we’ve had to take some difficult decisions. The latest of which was to cancel our Annual Conference and Exhibition, which was due to be held on 27 October 2020 at the Glasgow Hilton.

Despite this disappointing news, we remain resolute in our aims of continuing to share knowledge, build upon the extensive support already given to our membership, facilitating continued networking and collaboration, and continuing to support our members. We therefore decided to organise a series of exciting and informative weekly webinars.

You can access the videos here:

LEADERSHIP, RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES. View the video here

DYNAMIC PRICING: View the video here

CLEANING UP: FUTURE PROOFING YOUR BUSINESS: View the video here

EXTENDING YOUR SEASON WITH UK AND IRISH VISITORS: View the video here

REGULATION OF SHORT-TERM LETS, WITH THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT SHORT-TERM LET DELIVERY GROUP: View the video here

RULE OF SIX: HOW TO NAVIGATE RESTRICTIONS: View the video here

SHORT-TERM LET LICENSING: A BRIEFING SESSION WITH ASSC AND GILSON GRAY LLP: View the video here

DIGITAL RESET FOR THE NEW NORMAL: View the video here

BUSINESS FINANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19: View the video here

THE ONE YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO MISS: View the video here

THE UNINSURABLE RISK: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: View the video here

2020 ASSC AGM AND QUESTIONS WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS (UNEDITED): View the video here

Suggestions for Points to Make to MSPs regarding the STL Legislation

Posted on October 13, 2020February 2, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

Suggestions for Points to Make to MSPs regarding the STL Legislation

Dear Member,

As you are aware, the Scottish Government are progressing with their consultation on short-term let regulation despite the impact of Covid-19 on Scottish tourism and the numerous restrictions that have been placed on our industry. The consultation closes on Friday 16^th October and we would strongly encourage you to submit evidence if you haven’t already done so.

In tandem with this, you may wish to write to your local MSP to raise their awareness of the short-term let consultation, flagging your concerns with the manner in which it has been conducted and why it is proceeding at such a pace given Covid-19, as well as to highlight the negative consequences that will follow from the introduction of short-term let licensing.

Below you can find some key points to help inform your letter. This is focused on three areas: (a) concerns with the consultation process; (b) concerns with the lack of proper scrutiny; and (c) the consequences of the regulations.

Consultation Process

The consultation was only open for a little more than 4 weeks, as opposed to the standard 12-week process, at a time when many businesses are struggling for survival due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The short-term let consultation has been taken forward at a time when other pieces of key legislation, such as the Transient Visitor Levy, have been halted.
There is no reference in the consultation document to the impact of Covid-19 on Scottish tourism.
There is currently no Business Regulatory Impact Assessment to accompany the proposals on licensing and planning. We do not have an up to date assessment of what these regulations will cost operators, businesses and local councils.

Lack of Scrutiny

Introducing short-term let licensing and planning restrictions is not a straightforward task but one that necessitates detailed scrutiny of the proposed regulations.
The consultation has been truncated and there is a similarly quick timetable associated with the scrutiny of the secondary legislation which will be laid in Parliament in December 2020.
Proper scrutiny of the regulations matters as the self-catering sector is worth £723m to the Scottish economy and the livelihoods of operators and their families is at stake.

Consequences of the Regulations

The regulations will add more burdens and bureaucracy for a sector that is already regulated and one which is suffering from the impact of Covid-19 (including existing/contemplated restrictions). It will be the final straw for many operators across Scotland, including many in our rural and remote communities.
A licensing system is a blunt tool to fix a perceived and localised problem of amateur operators in Edinburgh, rather than being a solution that is appropriate for the whole of the Scotland, nor is it one that makes a necessary distinction between different types of visitor accommodation providers.
Due to the impact of Covid-19, the potential pitfalls and shortcomings of licensing come into sharper focus in two main respects: (a) the impact for resource stretched local authorities having to deal with an influx of tens of thousands of licensing applications; and (b) the impact any disproportionate licensing system could have on the recovery of Scottish tourism.
In terms of the economic impact, it cannot be limited to self-caterers alone but to the many businesses in local communities that benefit from the footfall of our guests (e.g. cafes, pubs, restaurants, farm shops, visitor attractions) and the wider supply chain associated with our properties (e.g. cleaners, housekeepers etc) if a regulatory framework is introduced that damages self-catering.

You can supplement and personalise your letter with your own lived experience of working in self-catering and how you believe these regulations will affect your business and livelihood.

You can find your local representatives by using the following tool on the Scottish Parliament website: https://beta.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps

Thank you in advance,

Fiona Campbell, ASSC CEO