Edinburgh to clampdown on short-term lets to address housing shortage

Edinburgh will be the first city in Scotland to bring in short-term lets control measures, as the Scottish government has announced changes to planning permission.

House owners wishing to change the use of an entire dwelling to a short-term let, when it’s not their principal home, will require planning permission.

Exceptions will be made for home sharing or home letting, however, and the control area will cover the entire City of Edinburgh Council area.

The news comes as a third of all short-term lets in Scotland are based in Edinburgh and industry body Homes for Scotland (HFS) believes the country is suffering a shortage of 100,000 new homes.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison 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 decision has been welcomed by the City of Edinburgh Council, with the planning committee unanimously voting in the measure earlier this year.

Edinburgh residents have largely backed the proposal too, with 85% of respondents to the council’s consultation approving of the move.

Council Leader Cammy Day said: ‘This is the news we have been waiting for after years of leading the way in campaigning for change. I am delighted that Ministers have now, finally, answered our calls.

‘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.

‘Plus, we have unique housing pressures in Edinburgh, with a small but densely populated city centre and a fast growing population. Combined with the surge in visitors we receive for the Festivals, this has always resulted in high demand for accommodation in the month of August. This change to policy and will help us to control the number of properties being unsuitably used in this way and help us to better balance housing supply for local people all year round, without stopping people from renting out rooms to performers during the festivals.

‘We will now progress implementing the changes and the next step should be looking at whether we can apply a cap on numbers, too.’

Photo by Gabriele Stravinskaite