Tag: AirBnB

Just ONE MONTH before short-term lets licensing deadline

The Scottish Government has reminded short-term let operators in Scotland to apply for a licence before the 1 October deadline, highlighting that no application so far has been rejected.

Licensing has been introduced to ensure short-term lets in Scotland are safe and meet consistent quality standards, including having gas certificates and suitable electrical equipment.

Official statistics published today, dating up to 31 March this year, show that across 32 local authorities, no applications submitted for a short-term let licence have been refused.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “Quality short-term let accommodation is vital to Scotland’s tourism sector and wider economy. It aims to protect the reputation of responsible operators and ensure the sector is regulated in line with other accommodation such as hotels and caravan parks, giving guests assurance of consistent safety standards.

“There has been a lead time of almost two years to the October deadline. Official statistics published today cover only up to the end of March and we know many more hosts have applied in recent months.

“Operators can take confidence that local authorities are working pragmatically to support new licensees through the application process – and we can see from the information that no completed applications had been rejected in the period, or since.

“So, I would repeat calls to everyone within the industry to back the scheme and encourage short-term let operators to apply for a licence in good time and before the 1 October deadline.”

Maree McLeod, owner of The Gatehouse in Reay, near Thurso, said: “The licensing scheme will ensure guests know properties like ours are of the highest standard and are compliant with the latest safety regulations.

“I have spent a lot of time and money ensuring our business is of the highest quality. We try our best to do the best.  It is therefore pleasing that other short-term lets will be brought to that same level. By doing this, Scotland will become an international leader in this market.

“The process of applying for a short-term let with Highland Council was made easy and straightforward because of the really helpful team there. I would encourage every owner to go through the process of obtaining a licence.  It not only marks out the property as a leader in its class, it marks out the owners too.

“Our business has improved through this process.”

Short term let licences last for three years, the average cost of applying is set out below:

Home sharing application median fee range £250 – £390

Secondary let application median fee range £333 – £550

Median fee for a home share let with occupancy of 2 – £257

Median fee for a secondary let with occupancy of 4 – £405

Median fee for a secondary let with occupancy of 6 – £451

Median fee for a secondary let with occupancy of 10 – £518

An average 6 occupancy (often 3 bedroom) property, which required new safety certification, would pay £451 for a licence, which would last for three years, plus around £290 in safety certification and a £59 EPC certificate.

Two months to go before short-term lets licensing deadline

Hosts must sign up to scheme before 1st October

Owners of short-term let properties are being urged to apply for a licence under Scotland’s short-term licensing scheme before the 1 October 2023 deadline.

Short-term let hosts must apply for a licence with their relevant local authority before the deadline. Anyone who operated a short-term let before 1 October 2022 can still accept bookings and guests until an application is determined, but must apply before the 1 October 2023 deadline. Owners who started operations after 1 October 2022 cannot begin trading until they receive their licence.

Hosts must apply for a licence with the local authority their property is located and are being urged to check local criteria before making an application.

Local councils’ licensing schemes are in operation across Scotland and many short-term let hosts have already obtained licences.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “Short-term let accommodation plays an important role in Scotland’s economy, supporting our tourism and hospitality sector and allowing tourists and holiday goers somewhere to take them closer to the best that Scotland can offer.

“However, it is also important that there is appropriate regulation in place to ensure the safety of guests, and so that local authorities can make decisions that are right for their local areas. That is why the Scottish Government has introduced the short-term lets licensing scheme.

“I would like to thank those who have already signed up to the scheme, bringing assurances to tourists that their safety is paramount and that they have met local guidelines.

“Visitors coming to Scotland can already expect to see the benefits of properties being licensed and meeting specific standards. Meanwhile, the thousands of short-term let operators who provide a quality service can have the assurance that would-be competitors have to meet licensing standards as well.

“There is only two months to go until the 1 October deadline and so I would urge anyone who owns short-term let accommodation and has yet to apply to do so as soon as possible to ensure you can still take bookings and welcome guests from far and wide.”

Short Stay St Andrews Director Jordan Mitchell said: “As the largest holiday letting agency in St Andrews and the East Neuk, the initial thought of an application process for short-term letting our 130+ managed properties was a daunting one.

“However, the application process has been plain sailing once we had all the required safety certification in place.

“Fife Council has been extremely supportive in its quest to process the applications despite the extra pressure on its systems.

“I can only recommend applying as soon as possible to give your business plenty of time to adjust to the new Scottish Government requirements.”

Owners have until 1 October 2023 to apply for a short-term lets licence, with local authorities required to process applications by 1 October 2024.

Apply for a short-term let licence: gov.scot/shorttermlets

Short-term lets: professional advice is ‘the only real safeguard for owners’

As Edinburgh tightens the net on Airbnb-style short-term lets, what are the options for property owners and landlords?

By Calum Allmond

It was always on the cards that if restrictions were to be introduced on short-term letting in Scotland, Edinburgh would be first out of the blocks. And, sure enough, the council last month introduced a city-wide “control zone”.

The capital, which for obvious reasons is the country’s tourist Mecca, has become a magnet for Airbnb-style short-term lets over the last decade, leading to concerns about housing shortages and perceptions about anti-social behaviour.

Under draft proposals which will now go to Scottish Government Ministers for final approval, property owners will soon need planning permission to be able to operate short-term lettings and will have to apply for a change of use certificate from the planning department.

What is less well known is that the council has always had the power to require planning permission in the event of a material change in environment, such as short-term rentals. The difference is that, from now on, this will be mandatory.

It should be noted that the proposals only apply to secondary lettings, i.e., properties which are not an owner’s primary residence. People will still be able to let out their homes while on holiday, or rooms in their home while they remain in residence.

However, while the new restrictions appear to be forging ahead, it still remains unclear what policies the local authority will eventually apply. The current Development Plan – the overarching guide to future council thinking – makes no mention whatsoever of short-term lets.

Nor, surprisingly, does the document designed to replace it, the City Plan 2030, which again does not concern itself with the issue – making it increasingly difficult for property owners to plan ahead.

One can only speculate at the moment about whether permissions will be granted for continued short-term use, and on what grounds. Nor is there any clarity about whether numerical limits will be imposed.

Were there to be limits, it would be reasonable to assume that applications would be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so landlords hoping to remain in the market might be advised to act sooner, rather than later.

There is, of course, an existing provision in law whereby if a short-term let has been operating for more than 10 years, with no action against it by the council and no action to conceal its operation, then it is entitled to a Certificate of Lawfulness to continue operation, though necessary evidence will be required.

As of the start of this month, there have been nine applications so far this year for planning permissions for short-term lets, only two of which have been granted – and they both involved Certificates of Lawfulness.

What to do if applications fail is clearly now a matter of immediate concern for property owners and DM Hall’s specialist rural arm Baird Lumsden is currently embarked on an information campaign around the sales, letting and management options which remain open.

It has gone into the issue in depth, in anticipation that Highland Council will be the next authority to impose short-term let restrictions around the Badenoch and Strathspey area, and is reaching out to concerned parties.

Informed and impartial advice of this nature is something of a port in a storm for property owners who are caught between a rock and a hard place as the restriction net tightens.

There has been anecdotal evidence of landlords exiting the short-term market and moving to longer lets in the private rental sector. But regulation in this sphere of activity is getting stricter all the time, and the imminent New Deal for Tenants will do nothing to ease landlord pain.

On a superficial level, it is easy to understand the council’s hope that properties taken out of short-term lets will find their way back into the housing stock, thus easing ongoing shortages.

But a counter-argument, articulated by bodies such as the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, is that lack of house-building is as much of a contributory factor to shortages, and that short-term lets bring in huge volumes of valuable tourism revenue to the city.

As things are, some smaller operators may indeed be forced to sell up and quit the market, although larger letting concerns will almost certainly continue to jump through the necessary hoops.

In this volatile environment, expert professional advice is the only real safeguard, and prudent property owners and landlords will seek it out as timeously as possible.

Calum Allmond is Head of Architectural Services at DM Hall Chartered Surveyors.

For further information, contact DM Hall Chartered Surveyors, 27 Canmore Street, Dunfermline KY12 7NU. T: 01383 621262. E: dunfermline@dmhall.co.uk.

W: www.dmhall.co.uk http://twitter.com/dmhallLLP.

For further information about DM Hall’s nationwide network, please contact:

Caroline Wayte, Marketing Manager

M: 077863 62517

DM Hall, 12 Bothwell Street Glasgow G2 6LU

E: caroline.wayte@dmhall.co.uk

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The coast is dear

Some UK seaside accommodation prices up by a third

Holidaymakers face paying more for a UK seaside break this summer as a snapshot investigation suggests some accommodation prices have risen by an average of 35 per cent compared with last summer, according to new research from Which?.

With demand for UK holidays expected to soar this summer, Which? tracked the prices of 15 holiday lets in the top 10 most visited UK seaside destinations, and found that in every case, prices have increased from last summer.

The consumer champion’s snapshot investigation looked at prices for 15 properties listed between Airbnb and Vrbo in the past year, in destinations such as St Ives, Whitby, Llandudno and Brighton.

Which? first looked at the prices of these listings in May and June 2020, for various dates in July and August 2020. The research then looked at the prices of the same properties in February 2021 for similar dates in July and August 2021, and found all had increased in price, with an average increase of 35 per cent.

The largest markup of the properties Which? looked at was for a one-bedroom maisonette in Brighton on Airbnb. When the consumer champion checked the price of the listing in May 2020 for the first week of August 2020, the cost was £53 per night. But when it checked again in February 2021 for the same period the property was £127 per night – an increase of 140 per cent.

It also found a 70 per cent increase in price for a one-bedroom property in the centre of Eastbourne on Airbnb. Last year, for a one-week holiday in the first week of August, it would have cost £409. This year, the same week costs £696.

On Vrbo, a one-bedroom property in Bournemouth rose from £722 for the first week of August last year to £958 this year – an increase of 33 per cent.

Vrbo told Which?: “We are operating as a two-sided marketplace, connecting holidaymakers and holiday-home hosts, without being part of any contractual agreements between those parties at any time. That means that all rental contracts are closed between the holidaymaker and the holiday-home host, or the property manager directly.

“The hosts are also in control and individually set the rental price for their properties, the payment terms and all cancellation policies. Those policies are stated on the booking page for each property and must be acknowledged, and agreed to, by all holidaymakers before a booking on Vrbo is possible.

“Vrbo’s service fee is a percentage of the total amount of the reservation, excluding taxes and refundable fees paid by the guest. The service fee amount varies. Generally, the higher the reservation amount, the lower the percentage of the service fee. A value-added tax is charged on the service fee where required by local regulations.

“Vrbo does not set, change or influence the property prices a host chooses. However, Vrbo provides useful tips and information for hosts on how to be successful with their listing on Vrbo. For instance, Vrbo’s MarketMaker™ gives hosts access to real-time data about competitors, holidaymakers, local events and holidays. This allows them to adjust their prices, if needed, to remain competitive and attractive for holidaymakers.”

Other price rises were more modest. A one-bedroom cottage on Airbnb in Scarborough increased by seven per cent for similar August dates this year, while a one-bedroom property on Vrbo in Swanage with views over the Purbeck Hills had gone up by just two per cent.

Hosts on Airbnb set the prices and cleaning fees for properties listed on the platform. Airbnb said the price increases highlighted by Which? were “isolated examples”, while Vrbo also said hosts are in control and individually set the rental price for their properties.

According to the government’s current plans for releasing England from lockdown, self-contained holiday accommodation breaks are set to return from 12 April.

Demand for UK holidays is likely to be even higher this summer than last year, as there is currently less risk involved in taking a UK holiday than a holiday abroad while coronavirus restrictions, such as testing and hotel quarantine for UK arrivals, remain in place.

There is still some risk involved in booking holidays in the UK for this summer, such as being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or local restrictions preventing you from travelling. However most of these risks can be overcome by booking with a reputable company that has a generous flexible booking policy.

Which? is encouraging anyone booking a UK holiday to ensure they choose a flexible accommodation provider that has committed to offering full cash refunds or fee-free rebooking if your holiday is unable to go ahead as planned due to coronavirus.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “Many holidaymakers are looking forward to finally going to the seaside this summer, so it’s perhaps not a surprise that high demand has seen prices for some destinations shoot up too.

“If people are prepared to pay more for their summer holidays this year, it’s essential that they know their money will be protected or returned to them without hassle in the event they cannot travel as planned. Make sure you choose a provider that offers fair and flexible booking terms, so you won’t be left chasing a refund if something goes wrong.”

Full table of price increases:

Airbnb told Which?: “This misleading research features isolated examples that are not representative of prices on Airbnb. A survey shows that more than half of UK guests choose Airbnb because it is more affordable than a hotel or other options.

“With the Great British staycation back on the horizon, hosts are ready to provide clean and private accommodation to help families and loved ones safely reconnect, and around half say they rely on the additional income from hosting.” 

Outrage as Edinburgh residents face city centre curfew

Edinburgh residents are set to be barred from the city centre in a controversial experiment this summer. City chiefs want to make the world famous old and new towns a tourist-only zone over the festival period. Continue reading Outrage as Edinburgh residents face city centre curfew

Short term lets report doesn’t address real issue, say Greens

Andy Wightman MSP, Housing spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said a report published yesterday by a Scottish Government expert panel falls short of critically analysing the impact of the collaborative economy on individuals and communities in relation to short-term lets.

The Green MSP is calling for local councils to be given powers to control the rapid growth of short-term lets to ease the pressure on already limited housing stock, and address constituents’ concerns about anti-social behaviour and loss of community.

Research for Mr Wightman’s Homes First campaign shows that many landlords are operating lucrative short-term letting businesses, and many are not paying non-domestic rates, depriving local authorities of funding for local services.

Mr Wightman said: “While the report contains some useful evidence and recommendations, those concerning short-term lets are framed very much by what is in the vested interests of the industry, AirBnB in particular. They fail to properly analyse and come up with proposals for the real problem which is the conversion of homes to commercial enterprises, and they are dominated by proposals to experiment, gather data, and explore viability when what is need is action very soon to stop any further loss of homes and community in Edinburgh.”

Collaborative Economy report