UKHospitality has welcomed the Scottish Government decision to regulate short term lets and to provide local authorities with additional powers to regulate short-term letting in their areas.
The Scottish Government has today announced measures to provide local authorities with the ability to implement a licensing scheme for short-term lets from spring 2021. The scheme will also incorporate compulsory registration to underpin safety standards and optional powers for local authorities to impose further conditions where appropriate.
UKHospitality Executive Director for Scotland, Willie Macleod said, “We are pleased to see the Scottish Government look to bring in long-overdue registration and powers to control the massive and uncompetitive growth in largely unregulated short-term letting. The recent boom in short-term lets has brought with it increased choice for customers, but also a plethora of problems for residents and a raft of debatable business practices.
“Too many businesses have had an unfair advantage compared to hotels and other accommodation businesses, escaping business taxes and operating, sometimes, without important safeguards in place. This undermines hospitality businesses who have already been hammered by rising costs in recent years and potentially puts customers at risk.
“We are pleased to see that these businesses will not be exempt from any Tourist Tax and we await further detail on how the proposed taxation of short-term lets will proceed and note the requirement for planning change of use for whole properties for short-term lets.”