Short term lets new licensing scheme

[Markedforsl]

Can I ask whether anyone is having to deal with this? We have a spare room we advertise on AirBnb (occupied for a few months a year at most) and are considering using it for a lodger at some stage to provide a little retirement income. We're caught by these rules. If you have a lodger, rent a room out on AirBnb, or want to save money by doing a house swop for your holiday, you now have to comply with a large number of onerous and expensive rules to apply for a licence (the application is expected to cost a few £100s, not refundable if it's rejected). Gas safety checks, electrical checks and improvements, environmental inspection report, a check and certificate for every electrical device the lodger can access, taking photos of all fire safety labels on all furniture they can access, even more fire safety stuff than the new fire safety rules brought in recently, having to inform the neighbours and give them the chance to object, house inspections including potentially unannounced visits and even forcible entry, lots of paperwork. And then having to apply for renewals. Plus my area is considering making obtaining planning consent a requirement for everyone caught by the new rules.
This is surely the end of the road for people who just want to make use of a room in their house, and will mean higher prices and less availability for visitors? Scotland is very full this summer, with people complaining about accommodation prices. What will it be like when the rules kick in? Everyone is skint and getting skinter. This has to be seriously bad news for the tourism industry and for Scottish people who like holidaying in Scotland.

I agree op, I think it is way too extreme for lodgers and for anyone house swapping - I can't understand why the Scottish government need to get involved in private arrangements where no money is changing hands.

I've just realised that language exchanges for our children will now be illegal unless formal approval is obtained from the French/Spanish child's school first, in which case there is an exemption.

FFS!

I do home swaps - and arrange for pet/house-sitters while I’m on holiday. No money changes hands, but now I’ve to get a fucking licence to let people I choose to stay in my own fucking house!!!

I’ve had a very quick look at the Human Rights Act, and it seems to me that the Scottish Government are definitely overstepping in terms of the right to a private and family life, and also the right to enjoy your property peacefully.

This is most certainly not the first time they’ve trampled over human rights, and I’m going to find out how this can be challenged.

I understand the need to regulate airbnbs and similar, but there is no way the state should make me a criminal for inviting guests to stay in my home without a fucking licence!

Those offering a room to rent in their family home are being caught up in the bureaucracy.

Prior to my current arrangement, I often hosted NHS staff/students on rotational placements.

Due to this license scheme, if rooms to rent in family homes are no longer available those trainee medics are going to need to find hotel rooms instead. Tricky and expensive in Edinburgh during the Festival or Glasgow during COP26 for example.

It's still not clear to me how "the authorities" will know I, or anyone else, have a lodger, have a Fringe performer on my sofa for a month or have asked a friend to pet sit for a week.

What about all the families currently hosting Ukrainian guests?

Does this apply to existing tenants ( the licence) - I live in a rural area - rent I'm charging is less than half that in Edinburgh - I feel bad putting the rent up but might have to. If it only applies when a new long term tenant moves in then I'm exempt.

seeingadistance, I wondered about that with the human rights act. If no money changes hands, why the fuck should the government be involved in a private arrangement that has no impact on anyone else? I have written to my MSP and I will be pursuing this.

jam, I can't remember exactly what it says in the legislation but I think there might be an exclusion for refugees - worth checking though.

I don't suppose the authorities would know if you allowed a friend to pet sit or whatever so many people will ignore - but it will deter others if they think they are breaking the law.

Taking in a lodger is excluded from this legislation, as long as it’s their only or principal home. So ok for someone who lives there full time.

But It would include someone who has a Monday - Thursday lodger. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Of course anyone who has lodgers already has to comply with some safety rules ( unlike air BNB).

I agree with everyone else that this is using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. And creating work/ expanse for everyone in the whole country because of an Edinburgh issue.

Its ridiculous that it applies to home swaps - how has the condition / safety of home swaps ever been an issue ????

I know someone who has just been granted planning permission for a very modest 3 bed semi in a small Scottish town that she uses for serviced accommodation. It cost her nearly £1,000. And then she’s still to apply for the license.

So many small landlords are giving up their properties because of the legislative and tax changes . This is just going to exacerbate Scotland’s housing and accommodation shortages and therefore drive up prices.

I pay an annual fee to use a house swap and also a house sitter website. So, if a Council wanted to, they could very easily and quickly check to see if anyone in their area is hosting in this way.

I’m not going to apply for a licence but I don’t want to break the law. That said, I’m going to do my very best to challenge this. It is up outrageous that the state should interfere in people’s homes and relationships in this way.

Today, I’m going to email the house swap and sitter websites to see if they’re aware and if they would challenge. This will effectively mean they can’t operate in Scotland as it changes the terms of the exchange and sitting arrangements.

seeing, I am also a member of a house swap website. I emailed them last week about this and hopefully they are going to look into it further. Good if as many Scottish house swappers as possible could do so. Like you, I am going to challenge this as best I can - it's outrageous. And yes, you're right, councils could easily find out who is house swapping from the house swap websites.

I've been having a look at the consultation documents and analysis on the Scottish Government website, and will put together a summary relating to sharing and swapping arrangements. From what I can see so far, the overwhelming majority of respondents had no problem with swapping and sharing, said that it should be treated separately from short term lets and those for financial gain, and some saw it as a positive that people used their own homes or properties in this way. So far, I've not been able to find any reference consideration being given to Human Rights legislation.

Am more than happy to share the information I put together. PM me or add a comment on this thread if you're interested in sharing or co-ordinating a pushback against this.

Somebody's mentioned tax changes. What are these changes and are they being brought in at the same time?
I imagine that lots of people will ignore the need for a licence, but it only takes one nosy neighbour / disgruntled ex-boyfriend or whatever, and then they'll have a criminal record.

Seeing I am definitely up for trying to coordinate some kind of response.

It will be interesting to see/hear what hosting websites say/do because it would need a concerted effort by airBnB, VisitScotland, caravans4hire, cottages.com etc to only accept adverts for accommodation with a valid license, which presumably you'd also be able to double check on your Council website, for this legislation to have any impact.

Air BNB have already been in touch with owners to update them on the changes. I assume they will require owners to show the relevant documents before they approve a listing. Or at least tick a box to say that they have them, In which case they can delete them if they don’t.

Recent email from air bnb to owners

We’re writing to update you on the upcoming short-term let regulations in Scotland.

• By 1 October 2022 all local authorities in Scotland will introduce a licensing scheme. After this date, new listings will be required to obtain a licence before they begin operating.

• Any short-term let that started operating before 1 October 2022 will have to apply for a licence by 1 April 2023 and can continue to host while they wait for their licence.

• All short-term lets must have a licence by July 2024. You should not accept bookings beyond this date without a licence.

• In addition, Edinburgh Council and the Badenoch and Strathspey ward in the Highlands are also introducing short-term let control areas. Other councils may also introduce control areas in the coming weeks. If you are hosting in a property that is not your primary residence and you are in one of these areas, you will be required to obtain planning permission to continue operating.

We’ll continue to share more information with you as it’s confirmed. In the meantime, you can reach out to your local authority or join the Scotland xxxxxxxxx on Facebook to stay updated and share experiences with other Hosts.

Thanks,

The Airbnb Team

I think this is great. AirBnB and other excess of holiday lets are wrecking communities, so I really welcome the efforts to restrict.

I am also in favour of the Airbnb restrictions in the legislation carefully courageous, but there is zero evidence that people's informal swap arrangements with friends or being part of a home swap website are causing huge housing problems.

I’m very much in favour of anything that restricts properties being bought up for AirBnb. Of the group of 9 houses here, 4 are now full time AirBnb and I suspect the rest will go the same way. Anecdotally it’s getting harder and harder for people to buy starter homes in the village because anything cheap gets snapped up, flipped, and is on AirBnb within a month.

Ridiculous that it applies to lodgers in a spare room though. In fact, even AirBnbers in a spare room are a good thing. It’s just when it’s the the whole property as AirBnb, meaning no local residency, that is an issue IMO.

This is what happens when you regulate - things get regulated. It needs to happen and these informal arrangements are not important economically or in terms of social planning for housing. They are no loss to society if they don't happen and you can't leave a great big loophole available to be exploited.

We need to tackle the problem of AirBnB etc and I am glad it is being done.

Clearly courageous you completely misunderstand the nature of home swaps or indeed the benefits of informal swap arrangements with friends. Home swapping as a concept is something that has happened across the world for decades. It allows low cost holidays plus has an element of cultural exchange in the way that swappers get to know their hosts and their local area. It is absurd that Scotland will be one of the only countries in the world that deems home swaps so pernicious they need to be regulated out of existence.

Home swaps, unlike Airbnb, do not cause an unbalanced housing market, do not create areas of city housing only available to Airbnbs with all the attendant impact on the area. They are low impact and informal and I would challenge anyone to come up with one negative impact of home swapping.

I agree @Lerouge . It seems to be that stopping someone house swapping ( an infrequent arrangement done for no financial gain and with no adverse impact on anyone else ) is a huge infringement of civil liberties with no public good.

Does any other country in the world regulate home-swapping to this extent (or at all)? Or will it just be Scotland?
For all the fairly meaningless words about wanting to re-join the EU, I feel that movement under this government is towards being more insular and more nationalistic. We are being controlled more and more rigidly.
This legislation will significantly reduce the number of overseas visitors coming to Scotland. It is designed to do so. It will stop people renting out their spare room to a visitor from overseas, with the cultural exchange and friendship that brings, despite that having no positive effect on the housing market or anything else. It will make it more difficult for us to arrange foreign language exchanges for our children. It will make it more difficult/expensive for us to go abroad ourselves. The government is aware of this. It either doesn't care or it sees these things as a positive.
We should be permitted to invite people into our own homes, to share those homes with us. Those people will not be having loud parties. They are not affecting the housing market. There is no good reason for the width of this legislation. And these issues were consulted on and argued about, but the government went ahead anyway.

I understand house swaps, I have done one once. It is very patronising to assume someone who disagrees with you doesn't understand.

In a cost benefit analysis I would rather lose the house swaps and preserve the integrity of the core policy. If it is an error it will get clarified/revised, if not, I don't mind.

Potentially the issue would be how you prove a rental paid for in cash was not in fact a 'swap'. All loopholes create enforcement problems.