City B&B checks could harm rural economic recovery

Proposed regulations which would place additional costs and checks on short term accommodation lets could have disastrous consequences for many small businesses offering tourist accommodation in the countryside.

Devised to tackle anti-social behaviour and the lack of available housing - primarily in urban areas like Edinburgh - those involved in B&B and self-catering accommodation in the countryside claim that while they are not the targets of such legislation, the current Scottish government proposals could place crippling additional costs on the sector and sink any hopes of recovery after Covid restrictions.

Warning of the unintended consequences which would affect rural areas, Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) claimed that the issues being addressed under the new proposals hardly ever arose in country areas – and urged the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee which is considering the proposals to vote against them:

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“With the tourism sector in the grip of economic crisis caused by the pandemic, SLE is urging the committee members to vote against proposals that put jobs and livelihoods at risk,” said Gavin Mowat, a policy adviser with SLE.

“Livelihoods of many in the sector are already hanging by a thread due to the Covid crisis. Businesses need support, not further uncertainty.”

Under the proposals huts, glamping pods, wooden lodges and yurts essential to Scotland’s rural economy would all face unnecessary and costly regulations, he added.

When the government consulted on the regulations for short term lets, these accommodations were far from the forefront of policy makers’ concerns, he said and that licensing for this type of rural accommodation was “completely disproportionate”.

“All short-term let operators could be asked to pay a licence fee of potentially £1000 every year, plus an annual ‘monitoring fee’ and possibly further planning fees.”

And he said that the proposals would introduce new red tape for B&B’s: “Bureaucracy that would prove not only an inconvenience, but which could cost operators up to £5000 in upgrades to meet the required licensing standards,” said Mowat who added:

“Forcing unwelcome and unnecessary regulations on small rural businesses will not solve problems with anti-social behaviour or lack of residential housing in Edinburgh.

“Greater care should have been taken to tackle the root causes of these issues without impacting our important rural tourism sector. We strongly urge the committee to vote against these regulations”.

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A Scottish government spokesperson said that, if approved by Parliament, the licensing scheme would come into force on April 1, however local authorities would have until 1 April 2022 to establish a scheme in their area and open it to receive applications, with existing hosts having until 1 April 2023 to apply.

He added that the legislation was designed to meet the concerns over the impact of short-term lets on communities, including noise, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and a loss of residential housing stock.