Edinburgh’s SNP MPs, MSPs and Councillors have jointly written to Kevin Stewart MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, calling for new initiatives to tackle problematic short-term letting in the capital.
The letter includes asking the Minister to consider piloting innovative approaches to regulating short-term lets in Edinburgh, emphasising that the capital’s high concentration of houses being used as regularly for short-term visitor accommodation makes it the clear choice for trialling new solutions.
The city’s SNP politicians welcome the publication of responses to the Scottish Government’s consultation on short-term lets and its recognition that the issue cannot be effectively tackled using the current system of planning enforcement, as this is too resource-intensive.
The analysis of the consultation responses acknowledges that there is high demand for a licensing system and the appetite for Edinburgh-specific solutions. The capital is Scotland’s most popular tourist destination and hosts the highest concentration of short term lets in the country.
Commenting on behalf of the city’s SNP MPs, Tommy Sheppard MP said: “We’re delighted that the Scottish Government is taking this issue seriously.
“None of us have a problem with people renting a spare room or their flat from time to time. However, widescale absentee letting of whole homes on a near permanent basis too often causes antisocial nuisance for residents – from the dunting of suitcases up tenement stairs to loud parties. It also prevents houses being homes to live in, causing rising rents and making buying unaffordable for too many, and hollowing out our communities.
“Our constituents are clear that they want to see decisive measures on Edinburgh’s short-term lets problem. I’m hugely heartened by the Scottish Government’s response and look forward to their proposals.”
Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, speaking on behalf of the city’s SNP MSPs, said: “There are too many whole properties being used regularly for short-term letting in my constituency, which is negatively affecting local people’s day-to-day lives and the affordability of housing.
“That’s why I’ve been working with SNP colleagues across Edinburgh and in the Scottish Government to seek and establish new, effective solutions to better regulate short-term letting in our city – and it’s also why this week I was very pleased to hear that the Scottish Government has committed to announcing policy proposals later this year to tackle the sorts of issues that my constituents are experiencing.
“Our joint letter, as team Edinburgh SNP, emphasises that across the capital we want to see strong, decisive action to address the problems that short-term letting is causing in our city, and I am pleased that taking appropriate action is exactly what the Scottish Government is gearing up to do.”
Cllr Kate Campbell, the city’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, on behalf of the SNP group leading the Council, added: “It’s clear that short term lets in Edinburgh need regulation. Whether it’s the anti-social behaviour experienced by too many, or that rents are becoming unaffordable because of the pressure on housing supply caused by the loss of so many homes.
“I very much welcome the recognition from the Scottish Government of the impact on Edinburgh and the commitment to working with us on getting the legislation we need. As a local authority we want the powers to properly protect homes and communities and keep Edinburgh as a city that is affordable for people to live in.”
Full text of the letter:
Kevin Stewart MSP
Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG
30th October 2019
Sent by email
Dear Kevin,
Powers for Local Authorities – Regulating Short-Term Lets – Action for Edinburgh
As Edinburgh MPs, MSPs (in our constituency capacities) and Councillors, we welcome the Scottish Government’s ambitious Programme for Government for 2019-20 including a commitment to bringing forward legislation in the coming year to enable local authorities to introduce a Transient Visitor Levy (or “Tourist Tax”).
We also very much welcomed the First Minister’s announcement at SNP Conference in Edinburgh, in April this year, that short-term lets would be the subject of a consultation by the Scottish Government. A number of us responded to that consultation, as did many of our constituents.
This consultation was undertaken with a view to potentially bringing forward plans to give Local Authorities new powers to better regulate short-term let properties. We note the Scottish Government’s response and independent analysis of this consultation, published on 28th October 2019 – this demonstrated widespread support for regulation, whilst recognising that this is a complex issue which needs to acknowledge differing circumstances across Scotland as a whole.
However, the consultation recognises that Edinburgh has particular challenges in relation to short-term lets, as it has the highest concentration of short-term lets, and we would ask that this is recognised as a matter of priority.
Constituents’ Concerns
None of us are against occasional short-term letting of a flat or spare room. However, regular short-term letting of whole properties is increasingly problematic in our constituencies. Each of our offices receive requests for help from constituents who are enduring significant disruption from flats in their tenements and streets that are being used for short-term lets on a regular basis; and who are concerned about the erosion and hollowing out of once vibrant residential communities.
Furthermore, the operation of several unregistered and unregulated de facto hotels operating across Edinburgh brings increased levels of anti-social behaviour and health and safety implications. The growth of short-term lets has also taken many homes, which would otherwise have been available for long-term rent, out of the residential housing supply; it is detrimentally inflating housing costs and making housing less affordable for local people and key workers. This is adding to the already challenging circumstances in Edinburgh’s housing market.
Using Existing Powers
Current legislation does not provide the City of Edinburgh Council with enough powers to deal with these problems effectively. We welcome the fact that the Scottish Government recognises that the current route of planning enforcement is simply unsuitable, is too resource-intensive and does not provide the sort of remedies required to tackle the scale of the problem in our capital city. We agree with you that the Scottish Green Party have been wrong to suggest planning reform as a panacea to tackling short-term letting – it’s not.
Potential Solutions
We are committed to working with you and the wider Scottish Government to create a legislative arrangement that works for Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole. Therefore, we would be grateful if you could consider the following potential solutions as you continue to examine this issue:
- Firstly, we would propose that one or more regulatory pilots be undertaken on a ‘sandbox’ basis, without the need for primary legislation, in areas of greatest need, such as Edinburgh. We would be grateful if you could consider this.
- Secondly, on the basis of your analysis of the consultation, we would like to see Local Authorities empowered as appropriate to implement regulatory licensing arrangements, in line with the City of Edinburgh Council’s submission to the consultation and similar to the way short-term letting is regulated in other cities across Europe. We note that Airbnb is supportive in principle of such an arrangement. Moreover, if primary legislation is required to implement such a regulatory licensing arrangement for Edinburgh and other areas, we would suggest that the scope of the upcoming Bill on a Transient Visitor Levy could be broadened to legislate for any necessary measures to better regulate short-term letting.
- Lastly, we are interested to know what measures the Scottish Government is exploring to deal with potential exploitation of the Small Business Bonus scheme by the owners of short-term let properties.
We are grateful for all your work so far to tackle issues with short-term letting and look forward to collaborating to achieve effective, proportionate, robust solutions as soon as possible for the benefit of our constituents and all of Scotland.
Best regards,
| Ben Macpherson MSP
Edinburgh Northern & Leith |
Deidre Brock MP
Edinburgh North & Leith |
Cllr Adam McVey
Council Leader
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| Ash Denham MSP
Edinburgh Eastern |
Tommy Sheppard MP
Edinburgh East |
Cllr Kate Campbell
Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener |
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| Gordon MacDonald MSP
Edinburgh Pentlands |
Joanna Cherry QC MP
Edinburgh South West |
Cllr Cathy Fullerton
Regulatory Convener |
CC:
Aileen Campbell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government
Derek Mackay MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs
Kate Forbes MSP, Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy
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