Only one in five short-term lets has been approved by councils across Scotland, following the introduction of the SNP’s “flawed” licensing scheme, the Scottish Conservatives can reveal today.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests by the party to the 32 local authorities reveal that over 3,000 short-term let applications had been made as of March this year.
However, only 664 of these were approved, representing 21 per cent of applications made over the six-month period.
Scottish Conservative South Scotland MSP Sharon Dowey, who uncovered the figures, says they are further “damning proof” that the SNP’s licensing scheme is “not fit for purpose” and is another “huge burden” on small business owners at a time when they are continuing to grapple with rising costs.
The SNP’s licensing scheme was passed by SNP-Green MSPs in January 2022 despite overwhelming opposition from the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASCC), Scottish Land and Estates and opposition MSPs.
It meant that councils would have to implement a licensing scheme as of October 1 2022, while existing hosts will need to apply for a licence by October 1 of this year. A six-month extension on the latter was only granted by SNP ministers following pressure from the industry and the Scottish Conservatives.
Under the SNP’s scheme all short-term lets will have to be fully licensed by July 1 2024.
Sharon Dowey says that cash-strapped councils simply do not have the resources to process applications quickly enough following years of “savage” cuts being handed down to them by the SNP-Green government.
Her research shows that in some councils zero applications have been processed, while in Edinburgh – where the council has also introduced a short-term lets control zone – only 32 out of 86 applications have been granted.
Upon the passing of the short-term lets order in January, Fiona Campbell from ASSC said it remained “unfit for purpose, lacks an evidence base and was more often than not based on groundless fears”.
Scottish Land and Estates also warned of the impact of the “urban-focused” licensing scheme on rural Scotland, highlighting that “excessive bureaucracy and spiralling costs” could lead to many businesses closing.
Sharon Dowey says SNP ministers must use these figures as an “urgent wake-up call” and to stop acting like they know best when it comes to supporting small businesses.
Scottish Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey said: “These eye-opening figures are further damning proof that the SNP’s flawed short-term lets licencing scheme is not fit for purpose.
“Our councils, which have suffered for years at the hands of savage SNP-Green cuts, simply do not have the resources to process applications in the timely manner that is required.
“With only one in five applications being processed since the order came into force last October, small businesses and individuals are continuing to be hamstrung by this anti-business SNP-Green coalition.
“They have typically acted like they know best in relation to this scheme despite the overwhelming concerns and opposition raised by the industry. While I fully accept that there is a need to take local interests into account, particularly where there are housing shortages, the industry warned of the huge downsides of the SNP-Greens’ one-size fits all approach.
“Businesses across Scotland are grappling with rising costs and this licensing scheme is a huge burden on them at a time when more bureaucracy is the last thing they need.
“These figures must be an urgent wake-up call for SNP-Green ministers to give our councils the resources they need to speed up these applications and ensure that our small businesses are fully supported at a time when they are facing huge challenges.”