BiGGAR Economics challenges ‘false narratives’ surrounding Scotland’s self-catering sector now at risk from heavy-handed government regulation
NEW independent analysis from a respected Scottish consultancy reveals the substantial positive economic impact of Scotland’s self-catering industry which was also shown to have a negligible effect on housing.
BiGGAR Economics calculated that short-term lets (STLs) contribute nearly £1bn gross value added (GVA) to the Scottish economy while supporting approximately 30,000 jobs. By accommodating visitors, STLs generate economic activity across Scotland, with the local impacts exceeding residential use, supporting an additional £32,400 GVA per property.
Guests staying in self-catering accommodation, termed ‘secondary lets’ in Scottish STL legislation, also spend more than the average visitor to Scotland, with knock-on gains for related tourist and hospitality businesses. Alongside this huge economic boost, the researchers also highlight that self-catering accounts for less than 1% of the country’s total housing stock.
This challenges the narrative that STLs are fuelling Scotland’s housing crisis, with self-catering at only 0.8% of the country’s housing stock, too low a proportion to have a meaningful impact on local housing markets. Moreover, according to the report, in every local authority area, economically inactive empty homes account for a larger proportion of total dwellings than from secondary lets.
The key headlines include:
- STLs are estimated to generate £864m GVA and support 29,324 jobs across Scotland;
- Edinburgh and Highland together account for 44% of the total economic impact but the sector’s benefits are dispersed throughout Scotland;
- The annual GVA associated with an average owner-occupier/private rented household in Scotland was £14,451, compared to £50,159 for a two-bedroom STL; and
- STLs make up a tiny proportion of Scotland’s housing stock, with self-catering accounting for just 0.8%. This is considerably less than the 3.6% that economically inactive empty properties account for.
This study comes as the Scottish Government published an implementation update report on STL licensing which the industry maintains did not adequately address their longstanding concerns. At a local level, councils such as Highland and Edinburgh are also assessing their regulations.
BiGGAR’s new analysis is based on the best available evidence on STLs in Scotland. The findings have been shared with Scottish Government Ministers and officials.
Graeme Blackett, Director of BiGGAR Economics, said: “This report shows that secondary lets make an important contribution to Scottish tourism and economy overall, supporting almost 30,000 Scottish jobs.
“Our research also concluded that it was clear that secondary lets are not a driver of the wider Scottish housing market.
“If short-term let regulations leads to a reduction in the supply of secondary lets, that will have a negative impact on the tourism economy, without delivering any solutions to Scotland’s wider housing challenges.”
Fiona Campbell, CEO of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said: “This is yet more compelling evidence that short-term lets aren’t the main contributor of the housing crisis but are instead turbocharging local economies with a near £1bn positive impact while supporting 30,000 jobs.
“The current unbalanced regulatory framework does not reflect this reality and changes are needed before irreversible damage is done.
“Local councils should take heed of the report’s findings when considering their approach to planning policies and control areas to ensure the relatively small number of valuable short-term lets are protected.
“For policymakers, the message couldn’t be clearer: you can’t solve a housing crisis by producing a crisis in Scottish tourism by decimating local businesses that underpin local economies. Attention must shift to the real causes of the housing crisis.”
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