Exclusive:'No plans to extend short-term let licensing scheme deadline', says Scottish minister and Humza Yousaf ally, despite increased sector lobbying

Ministers are coming under renewed pressure from short-term let operators.

Ministers are set to resist calls for a second extension to a licensing scheme designed to tackle the growth of short-term lets across Scotland.

Neil Gray, the economy secretary, told The Scotsman there were “no plans” for the October 1 deadline to be extended for a second time despite increased lobbying from the self-catering sector.

The deadline – already extended by six months – for short-term let businesses and hosts to register with the Scottish Government is October 1, after which it will be a criminal offence for them to let a room in their home, or an entire property.

The scheme covers guesthouses and bed and breakfasts, but does not include larger commercial developments such as aparthotels.

A survey of more than 1,200 business owners by the Association of Scottish Self-caterers (ASSC) found 61 per cent of bed and breakfasts and small holiday let businesses were preparing to shut their doors at the end of September.

Data available on Inside Airbnb, which scrapes figures otherwise unavailable to the public, suggests Edinburgh has around 7,700 listings, of which 6,000 have seen at least one night of occupancy in the past year.

Around 3,800 listings are considered to be “recent or frequently” booked, with an average of 184 nights booked at a cost of £153 a night. The average income of an active listing is £27,291, the website suggests.

Edinburgh City Council estimates around 80 per cent of short-term lets could close after October 1, resulting in a significant reduction in available properties. Some in the tourist industry argue this could negatively affect the sector and lead to higher prices for tourists.

Mr Gray, asked whether he could guarantee there would not be another extension, said there were “no plans” to do so despite business opposition.

He said: “We’ve been engaging very closely, I have personally with the Scottish Tourism Alliance, trying to make sure that we’re encouraging people to be applying for their licence, giving reassurance around the process, around what it means when they’re in the process on continuing to trade.

"We’re looking to provide as much information as possible so that the trade organisations and representative organisations can encourage their members to comply with the legislation that’s been in place for a number of years.

"No, it’s not purely my area of responsibility, this is obviously across different government departments. But [there are] no plans to see an extension when there’s already been a six-month extension to the licensing deadline to allow businesses to comply with it.

"We’ll do what we can to help make it as easy as possible. But there is good reason why we’re coming forward with these licences and I hope that for the majority, they will already be complying so they just need to get a licence and get it processed with local authorities and move on in a way that ensures that we’ve got a high standard in our tourism sector.”

Asked whether he had sympathy with businesses hit by the cost of the licences, Mr Gray said he did.

He said: “Of course, I’ve got sympathy with where businesses are seeing increased costs, but also we’ve got to make sure we continue to have high standards. There are existing health and safety regulations that most of this will already cover that businesses should be investing in to ensure that they’re complying with it.

"And I’ve heard clearly from the likes of the Scottish Tourism Alliance that there is no objection from professional businesses having to invest, that is what they do by their nature.”

Scottish Tourism Alliance chief executive Marc Crothall, in comments to The Herald, urged the Government to bring forward a “more workable, fair, proportionate and agreeable solution” and an extension to the deadline.

Asked whether they could give an absolute guarantee there would be no extension, a Government spokesperson refused to commit, but pointed at the fact there had already been a six-month extension.

The spokesperson said existing hosts had been given 20 months since the legislation was passed to meet licence conditions, and that ministers had “engaged frequently” with the sector and had “listened carefully to points raised”.

The comments follow a row within Edinburgh City Council after the leader of the Scottish Labour minority administration suggested during a radio interview the local authority wanted a deadline extension.

Cllr Cammy Day said: “I understand the sector will put applications in towards the end of September for that date in October, but if they want to join us in a lobby to ask for an extension to that, we would be more than happy to have that discussion.”

The Scottish Labour figure, who had led calls for regulation while in coalition with the SNP during the last council term, was rebuked by Green councillors in a letter seen by The Scotsman.

The letter, with senior council officers CC-ed in, made clear “a decision of council stands until such times as it is changed by another decision of council”, adding “your public comments today were therefore out of step with council’s democratically agreed position”.

Cllr Day later clarified his comments on social media, stating the council remains “absolutely committed” to a sustainable tourism economy.

He said: “As a council, we remain absolutely committed to ensuring the whole city benefits from our thriving visitor economy, but it has to be managed and it has to be sustainable – and I continue to believe that fair and effective STL controls would be an important step in the right direction.

“In its meeting of February 6, our regulatory committee was clear that the Scottish Government shouldn’t delay the implementation of STL licences any further and that remains the council’s position.

“From speaking to industry, I know that there’s a nervousness around the October 1 deadline, and they’re lobbying the minister for this to be extended further, but this is a date set in legislation and we have no discretion to change it.”

However, sources within Edinburgh Council suggest opposition parties are considering a potential no-confidence motion in Cllr Day, or potentially an emergency motion reaffirming support of the existing licensing deadline, at a meeting later this week.

Scottish Green councillor Susan Rae criticised Cllr Day for the “completely unacceptable” comments, but welcomed his retraction.

The licensing spokesperson said: “Communities across Edinburgh have been urging the council to introduce effective licensing for years, and the proliferation of short-term lets has only made the housing crisis worse in that time. These rules must come in on 1st October as planned. The residents of Edinburgh cannot afford any further delays.

“Councillor Day should now apologise for the stress and confusion his ill-judged comments caused so many across the city.”

Senior SNP councillor Kate Campbell, who led the previous administration’s housing policy, said Cllr Day had been his “usual embarrassing self”. She said: "Nowhere is as badly affected by short-term lets as Edinburgh, which is why we’d led calls for this legislation.

"I’m glad the Scottish Government are holding their nerve and standing up for our city, unlike the council leader who has been his usual embarrassing self."