Short-term letting: reminder issued of looming deadline

OPERATORS of housing accommodation available for a short period of time – such as to people on holiday – are being reminded by the Scottish Government to apply for a licence to continue.

Says the Scottish Government, in a media announcement: “Local authority licensing schemes opened to receive applications from October 1 [last year], although existing hosts and operators have [a month from now, October 1] to apply for a licence and can continue operating whilst their applications are being determined. After this date, they will not be able to operate until they make an application and a licence has been granted.”

Says the government, here: “The Scottish Government has reminded short-term let operators in Scotland to apply for a licence before the October 1 deadline, highlighting that no application so far has been rejected.

“Licensing has been introduced to ensure short-term lets in Scotland are safe and meet consistent quality standards, including having gas certificates and suitable electrical equipment.

“Official statistics published today, dating up to March 31 this year, show that across 32 local authorities, no applications submitted for a short-term let licence have been refused.”

In a separate announcement, here, the government reports: “There has been a total of 2,587 valid applications for short-term lets licences received by local authorities up to March 31 [this year], according to statistics published today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, with 1,178 applications received during the quarter October to December [last year] and 1,409 received during January to March [this year].”

In more detail (using the government’s own text):

Local authorities with the highest numbers of valid applications received include Highland (920), Dumfries and Galloway (436) and Fife (300), which together account for almost two-thirds (1,656 or 64 per cent) of all valid applications received up to March 31 this year. There has been a relatively low number of applications for The City of Edinburgh (90), Glasgow City (78), and other urban local authorities such as Aberdeen City (32) and Dundee City (18);

Applications as a rate per 10,000 dwellings have been highest in Na h-Eileanan Siar (78 per 10,000 dwellings), Highland (75), Dumfries and Galloway (57) and Orkney (44), whilst there has been a relatively low rate of applications for The City of Edinburgh (3.4), Glasgow City (2.4) and other urban local authorities such as Aberdeen City (2.6) and Dundee City (2.4);

Nearly all (2,569 or 99 per cent) of the total 2,587 valid applications received up to 31 March 2023 have been for a full licence, with nine (0.3 per cent) being for a temporary licence and nine (0.3 per cent) being for a temporary exemption;

Information on the provisional or new status of the licence application, as per the quarter the application was received, is available for 2,046 (80 per cent) of valid applications. Of these, 1,788 (87 per cent) have been for provisional licences (i.e. applications from existing hosts) and 258 (13 per cent) have been for new licences (i.e. applications from new operators/hosts or for properties previously unlet before October 1 2022);

As at March 31 this year, 1,625 (63 per cent) of the 2,587 valid applications received were awaiting determination, 848 (33 per cent) had been granted with no additional conditions, 102 (three per cent) had been granted with additional conditions, 12 (0.4 per cent) had been withdrawn, and none had been refused, revoked, suspended or lapsed. Of the 950 applications granted by March 31 this year, 14 were decided in October to December last year, and 936 were decided in January to March this year;

Of the 2,587 total valid applications received by March 31 this year, the majority (2,107 or 81 per cent) relate to secondary letting (i.e. where a non-primary residence is let out), with 271 (ten per cent) for home sharing, 129 (five per cent) for home letting, and 80 (three per cent) for a mixture of home sharing or letting. A total of 1,094 (42 per cent) applications relate to premises which are detached houses, 379 (15 per cent) for semi-detached houses, 289 (11 per cent) for terraced houses, 577 (22 per cent) for self-contained flats, and 248 (ten per cent) for unconventional dwellings;

As at March 31 this year, there were a total of 2,085 licences or exemptions in operation (covering active licences as well as temporary exemptions), consisting of 943 (45 per cent) full licences, 1,135 (54 per cent) provisional licences pending a final decision, two (0.1 per cent) temporary licences, and five (0.2 per cent) temporary exemptions; and

Accommodation information has been provided for 96 per cent (2,010) of the 2,085 licenses or exemptions in operation, equating to a total of 2,295 accommodation units. Information on the number of bedrooms was provided for all but one licence, totalling 5,640 bedrooms, whilst information on the maximum occupancy was provided for all but three licences, equating to a total maximum occupancy of 10,969 people.

Picture credit: Place Design Scotland