Edinburgh short-term let control area
The City of Edinburgh Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to have an application for a short-term let control area approved by the Scottish Government. This means that the change of use of an entire dwelling to a holiday/short term let (where the property is not the main residence of the occupants) will require will require change of use planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness. The planning control area will cover the whole of the local authority area. The council is now working on implementing the control zone which will come into force on 5 September 2022. Further information can be found on Edinburgh Council’s website here.
This requirement to apply for planning permission is in addition to the requirement to apply for a short-term let licence which will soon come into force throughout Scotland. Local authorities will have until 1 October 2022 to establish a licensing scheme; existing hosts and operators must have applied for a licence by 1 April 2023 in order to keep operating; and all short-term lets must be licensed by 1 July 2024. Those applying for a licence will undergo a fit and proper person test and must confirm (via a declaration or photographic/documentary evidence) that they meet safety standards and licensing conditions. A list of mandatory licence conditions can be found here. Government guidance for hosts and operators of short term lets in Scotland can be found here.
At SAL we specialise in supporting landlords who offer long term lets to tenants who occupy their properties as a dwelling and we are only able to offer limited assistance to those operating short term/holiday lets. We strongly recommend that any members who have short term/holiday lets join the Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers to ensure that they are kept up to date with any changes affecting that sector and have access to resources to support their short term/holiday let business.
Discount on ASSC membership for SAL members
The ASSC have waived their £50 joining fee for SAL members and at the time of writing ASSC have a 50% discount on membership making a total discount of £114.50.
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