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Category: Press Release

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) write to the Scottish Government seeking support to address outstanding issues relating to short-term let licensing

Posted on by EleanorASSC

SHORT-TERM LET LICENSING IN SCOTLAND 

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) write to the Scottish Government seeking support to address outstanding issues relating to short-term let licensing

In light of the 6 month extension in terms of short-term let licensing, Fiona Campbell, ASSC CEO has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, Shona Robison to ask that the Scottish Government use the time to take stock and assess the impacts related to the regulations, and then to work constructively to ameliorate the outstanding issues.

The letter has also been sent to the following:

  • Deputy First Minister, John Swinney MSP
  • Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee MSP
  • Paul Mclennan, MSP East Lothian
  • Euan Donald, Local Government Committee
  • Local Government Committee

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) welcomes the recent announcement that the Scottish Government will provide a six-month extension for existing operators in terms of short-term let licensing applications, as set out in your letter (7 December) to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government Committee.

This has been warmly received by our membership as it provides much needed reprieve during challenging times for business. However, real and pressing concerns still remain about short-term let licensing and we hope that we can work in partnership with the Scottish Government and local councils to resolve these for the benefit of Scotland’s tourism sector.

The ASSC further believes that the delay provides an opportunity to take stock, assess the impacts related to the regulations, and then work constructively to ameliorate the outstanding issues. Many councils have now published their finalised schemes. From our analysis of Scotland’s 32 local councils, we have concerns in relation to:

  • The various discrepancies seen across local authority areas, including on fees, layout plans etc;
  • Council licensing policies which are ultra vires in nature; and
  • Instances where planning considerations going too far;

More broadly, we have reservations regarding:

  • Barriers to investment; and
  • New operators having to wait to open until a licence is granted.

Read the letter in full here.

ASSC Response to Short-Term Let Licensing Delay

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

Following pressure from the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, the Scottish Government have announced they will delay their plans for short-term let licensing.

The government will now amend the date by which existing operators must apply for a licence from 1 April 2023 to 1 October 2023. This was confirmed in a letter from the Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison to the Convener of the Local Government Committee Ariane Burgess.

This six-month extension was only made possible after pressure applied by the ASSC and other tourism stakeholders due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the industry.

Small accommodation providers were enduring onerous and expensive red tape just to continue what they had been doing for decades. This additional expense, in the context of Covid recovery and the cost crisis, placed severe pressure on the sector.

Operators were faced by eye-watering fees in a confusing and inconsistent system, jeopardising jobs and livelihoods in an important part of Scotland’s tourism industry. The self-catering sector boosts the Scottish economy by £867m per annum, supporting 24,000 jobs. It provides a vital source of alternative accommodation for major events like the Edinburgh Festivals whose future viability remains at risk due to draconian short-term let regulations.

Elsewhere, the UK Government have committed to a less onerous registration scheme, while the European Commission have outlined proposals on regulation on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services.

While this delay will provide some momentary respite for the self-catering industry, the ASSC believes the Scottish Government must work in lockstep with industry and local councils to minimise the regulatory burden to support small business.

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

“The ASSC welcomes this announcement by the Scottish Government and 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.

Our ongoing concern, however, is that it is not long enough to give our members the breathing space they need to get their license applications approved in the current climate. We do see this as progress and we will continue to push forward on behalf of our members, we know there’s lots of work still to do.”

Andy Fenner, CEO of the UK Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA), said:

“We are pleased that the Scottish Government has made its decision for a 6 month delay to the deadline by which existing operators in the short term holiday lets sector have to apply for a license. We have worked alongside the ASSC and the wider Scottish tourism industry to present constructive opposition to this unnecessarily onerous scheme and the potentially negative impact it is going to have on the livelihoods of current operators, enduring the cost of living crisis, and the damage it could have on Scotland’s tourism economy. We have already heard from the likes of the Edinburgh Festival that its future is threatened because this licensing scheme will effectively limit the amount of accommodation on offer to visitors.

“We are in favour of a much more pragmatic and less onerous registration scheme like the one the UK Government plans to introduce, which is very much along the lines that we have campaigned for. Ultimately, we believe that the Scottish Government would be much better advised to introduce this sort of scheme than its proposed unwieldy licensing scheme.”

Notes:

  • The ASSC welcomes the announcement by the Scottish Government to delay the date in which existing operators have to apply for a short-term let licence. However, there are still a number of unresolved issues to overcome if the sector is to survive and thrive.
  • The Scottish Government should use this time to reconsider their scheme so to avoid disastrous unintended consequences for the tourism industry, particularly for the hosting of large-scale events like the Edinburgh Festivals which depend on short-term lets to accommodate visitors, performers and workers.
  • An ASSC survey from November 2022 highlights the fears faced by hard working operators whose livelihood depends on getting these regulations right. Of the 1,148 respondents, 93% remain concerned about licensing with more than two-thirds (66%) saying they are considering leaving the sector. Nearly half are experiencing mental health issues due to the stress about the viability of their business.
  • Scotland is an outlier in terms of STL regulation. Elsewhere, the UK Government have committed to a less onerous registration scheme, while the European Commission have outlined proposals on regulation on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services.
  • A delay only provides a temporary respite. However, the Scottish Government need to work alongside industry and local councils to provide a supportive regulatory environment for small business, not one which punishes with exorbitant costs during challenging times. That should include a consideration of alternative means of achieving the Scottish Government’s policy objectives, including through registration.

What it means to our members:

“May  I offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the work you have done on our behalf , this makes an incredible difference to us as a business and if I may say it is the best Christmas present we could receive .!

As an organisation , your tenacity and diligence  throughout has been outstanding and I’m sure I speak for many others as well as myself when I say we are so very grateful to  you all .

With kindest Regards and wishing you a happy and relaxed  Christmastime”

Media Coverage

Government postpones ‘ill-thought-out’ accommodation licensing scheme

The EHHA welcomes European Commission’s Proposal for Regulation of data Collection

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

Last week, the European Commission published a proposal for regulation of data collection and sharing relating to short-term rental (STR) services.

The European Holiday Home Association (EHHA), the united voice for short-term rental accommodation in Europe, welcomes this first major effort which emphasises the need for proportionate registration at local, regional or national level as a prerequisite for scalable platform data-sharing at EU level. Too often local rules are fragmented, complex and place excessive burden on STR accommodation providers. We hope that this proposal can clarify the role of all stakeholders, including local authorities, in ensuring fairer and responsible STR services across the region.

Short-term accommodation rentals (STRs) are an increasingly important part of the tourism sector. They represent nearly one quarter of the total EU supply of tourist accommodation1, are very popular among travellers and create opportunities for businesses, in particular SMEs, and citizens who use earnings from hosting to cover increasing cost of living. However, STRs are hindered by a variety of regulatory and often burdensome and outdated patchwork of requirements imposed on STR accommodation providers. These often create barriers to access the EU’s Single Market. The EHHA is convinced that a hyper-fragmented regulatory landscape and low awareness of the STR ecosystem3 exacerbates legal uncertainty and poses challenges for effective enforcement.

The Non-Executive Chair of the EHHA, Mr Eduardo Miranda, said:

“Short-term rentals are an essential part of the fast-growing EU tourism economy which creates jobs and opportunities for EU citizens as well as micro, small and medium sized enterprises.

The EHHA members has throughout the years supported STR data sharing with authorities4, in order to facilitate evidence-based policymaking. We believe that a harmonised framework for data collection and reporting, based on fair and proportionate underlying local rules, will help address the current challenges the STRs are facing such as a fragmented regulatory landscape, lack of legal certainty and ineffective enforcement.

We fully support the Commission’s efforts to create a framework for data collection and sharing which, in turn, would allow policy makers to design informed and proportionate local STR rules – rules which comply with the Services Directive.”

Key points on the proposed regulation:

  • This would deliver EU wide data collection, collated at national level, with national level rules
  • Registration schemes would be required by each member state on a national level, on a self-declaration basis
  • Registration numbers will be provided automatically, with any verification / certification to be requested after the process is completed
  • The register would collate activity data (number of nights let), owner contact data, whether properties are shared / entire
  • Member states would be able to add further requirements
  • Any requirements must be proportionate, non-discriminatory and comply with EU law
  • National level regulation implementation would be supervised by the European Commission
  • Further detail will emerge via consultation with member states, which will take approximately 12 months. Once agreed, it may take two years to reach implementation, however this has been prioritised.

Read the full release: EHHA Press release on EU STR Initiative

nb: Art.3, point (i) of 2022/2065: “‘online platform’ means a hosting service that, at the request of a recipient of the service, stores and disseminates information to the public, unless that activity is a minor and purely ancillary feature of another service or a minor functionality of the principal service and, for objective and technical reasons, cannot be used without that other service, and the integration of the feature or functionality into the other service is not a means to circumvent the applicability of this Regulation.”