No criminal reports in Edinburgh after five months of short-term let crackdown

New laws have sparked a backlash from the tourism sector.

No criminal reports have been made since the start of a crackdown on short-term lets in Edinburgh last October.

The Scottish Government introduced a licensing system amid outcry over the impact of Airbnb and other online booking sites on housing stocks across the country. City of Edinburgh Council, which recently declared a housing emergency, now has the power to investigate landlords suspected of not registering their short-term lets.

The scheme caused a backlash from parts of the tourism sector, who claimed the cost of registering holiday lets would cause an exodus of operators from the market. Non-compliant landlords could face fines of up to £2,500.

No criminal reports have been made in Edinburgh since a short-term let crackdown came into force

Figures obtained by the Evening News reveal that there have been 70 complaints about unlicensed short-term lets made to the local authority since the rules came into force. However, only five warning letters have been sent to landlords involved.

No one has been reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for non-compliance as yet.

The council has designated the entire city as a 'control area' for short-term lets, meaning that anyone applying for a licence will also have to seek planning permission for a change in their property's use. But a court ruling in December means that rule cannot be applied retrospectively - except in cases in which there has been a 'material' change of use.

City chiefs have called for more powers to battle the spread of holiday lets in the Capital, claiming the current laws are insufficient to rail in the effects of the surge seen in recent years. Around a third of short-term lets in Scotland are located in the city.