Edinburgh housing: Trade body says FOI figures show short-term lets not to blame for Edinburgh's housing crisis

Trade body says figures show short-term lets not to blame for Edinburgh’s housing crisis

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has unveiled new figures showing only a small number of professional self-catering businesses have seen their licensing application approved by City of Edinburgh Council.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request was submitted by the trade organisation to ascertain the number of licenses granted, declined or pending approval, as well as the total fees collected. The FOI shows that just around a quarter of the estimated short-term let properties in Edinburgh actually exist. While The ASSC claims Edinburgh council repeatedly stated that there are 12,000 short-term lets in the city, yet there have only been 3,573 short-term lets applications. Around half of these applications (1,828) were secondary lets. Just 36 of these properties have had their application approved, 22 of which operate all year.

Short-term lets have often been used as a scapegoat for wider housing challenges. With just 1,181 self-catering businesses in Edinburgh on non-domestic rates, compared to 1,201 in 2010, there are over 240,000 dwellings in Edinburgh, over 9,200 of which are empty homes.

Fiona Campbell, chief executive of The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) says the figures show that short-term lets should never have been blamed for housing shortages in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh council recently declared a ‘housing emergency’ but with short-term lets representing just a tiny percentage of total housing stock, the ASSC believes it is clear that more holistic solutions are required to solve housing challenges, rather than focusing on short-term lets.

Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the ASSC, believes these figures show that the short-term lets industry was unjustly used as a “convenient scapegoat” for housing issues in the Capital.

She said: “Short-term lets should never have been simplistically presented as a panacea for housing shortages in Edinburgh or elsewhere. Licensing or planning policy won’t result in a glut of affordable homes to buy or rent and anyone suggesting otherwise is raising false hopes.

“There are three times as many empty homes as short-term lets in Edinburgh but the latter have always been used as a convenient scapegoat despite substantially benefiting the local economy and helping the Festivals be the undoubted success they are. We have to build our way out of this crisis, as well tackling the increasing number of empty homes, as opposed to shutting down indigenous self-catering businesses which will only decimate local livelihoods and harm our tourist economy.”

The FOI request also showed that the council generated £2.6 million from the non-refundable licensing fees for short-term lets in Edinburgh. The ASSC added that one issue which may have led to fewer applications than anticipated is the council’s “draconian planning policy which places an additional hurdle on operators”.

Councillor Neil Ross, regulatory convener, said: “Existing operators had until October 1 to apply for a licence and at no point did the council estimate how many licences may be issued. Rather than see self-catering businesses close, the council has made sure that those who have applied have been issued with their provisional licence number so they can continue to trade.

"Applications are being checked to ensure they are complete and the important statutory consultation of 28 days is undertaken. The council is currently inspecting many secondary lettings and carrying out a lot of work to make sure that these properties are safe and that the public has an opportunity to comment on the applications if they wish to do so.”