A measure to help maintain the availability of long-term
residential housing in Edinburgh has been approved.
Edinburgh will become Scotland’s first designated Short-Term Let
Control Area after the Scottish Government approved the City of
Edinburgh Council’s proposed change to planning requirements.
The control area is intended to preserve the character of
neighbourhoods, prevent short-term lets in inappropriate places
or types of building, and help ensure homes are used to their
best effect. With a few exceptions, changing the use of an entire
residential home in the city to short-term letting will
automatically require planning permission.
Housing Secretary said:
“Edinburgh was the first local authority in Scotland to propose a
Short-Term Let Control Area and Scottish Government approval
represents a major step forward. We have committed to give local
authorities the powers to address concerns about the impact of
commercial short-term letting in their communities, should they
want to do that. This is an example of that local choice in
action – supported by the majority of respondents to the
council’s consultation on the proposed designation.
“I recognise the important role which short-term lets play as a
source of flexible and responsive accommodation for tourists and
workers, which brings many benefits to hosts, visitors and our
economy. However, we know that in certain areas, particularly
tourist hot spots, high numbers of lets can cause problems for
neighbours and make it harder for people to find homes to live
in.
“The Scottish Government considers that the council has
adequately considered and responded to concerns raised before
seeking approval of the control area designation. We have
concluded that the proposed designation would be reasonable.”
City of Edinburgh Council Leader said:
“This is the news we have been waiting for after leading the way
in campaigning for change. I am delighted that Ministers have
answered our calls and we look forward to reviewing the full
details included in the decision released today.
“It paves the way for Edinburgh becoming the first short-term let
control area in Scotland. For far too long, too many homes have
been lost in our city to the holiday market. In fact, around a
third of all short term lets in Scotland are here in the Capital,
so their associated issues of safety, anti-social behaviour and
noise have a detrimental effect on many of our residents. We will
now progress implementing the changes and the next step should be
looking at whether we can apply a cap on numbers, too."
Background
The control area covers the entire City of Edinburgh Council
area. Where a dwellinghouse is in a control area, a change of use
to secondary letting will always require planning permission
unless the exceptions set out in legislation apply.
Where the change of a dwellinghouse to a short-term let took
place before the designation of the control area the existing
planning rules will apply. These require planning permission for
a change of use of property where that change is a material
change in the use of the property.
Discretionary powers enabling local authorities to designate
short-term let control areas came into effect in
2021. Separate legislation introducing a mandatory licensing
scheme for all short-term lets in Scotland was approved
earlier this year. From 1 October 2022 new hosts must obtain a
licence from their local authority before they operate as a
short-term let. Existing hosts have until 1 April 2023 to make an
application for a licence, and can continue operating whilst
their licensing application is being determined.
