Local MSP Brian Whittle has criticised the Scottish Government for failing to delay plans for a short-term lets licencing scheme and make changes.
The scheme, which is due to come into full effect in October this year, requires anyone who provides short-term letting accommodation to apply to the council for a licence to operate. Originally proposed to deal with the rapidly increasing numbers of Airbnbs in cities like Edinburgh, which had started to attract anti-social behaviour, the scheme introduced by the Scottish Government extends to cover Bed and Breakfasts, people renting out a room in their house or those participating in house swaps for holidays.
Despite the deadline for hosts to register rapidly approaching, only a fraction of Scotland’s short-term let operators have signed up with many saying they may give up their business rather than face the extra red tape and registration fees.
Scottish Conservative Brian spoke in a debate in Holyrood this week urging the Scottish Government to delay the scheme and work with operators to make changes. With short term accommodation an increasingly popular alternative to hotels for tourists, Brian and many of his fellow MSPs are concerned that the Scottish Government are risking serious harm to the tourism industry with “a sledgehammer to crack a walnut”.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“There’s no question that a safe, well regulated short-term letting industry is in everyone’s best interests. But the plans the SNP-Green coalition are forcing through are a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.
The Scottish Government are quick to point to their consultations and changes they’ve already made, but when MSPs are being inundated with messages from frustrated hosts and protests are being staged outside the parliament, it’s impossible to believe that this scheme is ready to go.
Scotland is lucky to have an active and diverse short-term letting sector and the SNP seem intent on stamping it out with this one-size-fits-all regulation.
There’s still time for the Scottish Government to prevent this utterly unnecessary damage to our tourism industry by pausing the scheme and working with operators to make changes. If they decide not to then they’ll have no-one but themselves to blame for the harm that follows.”
