Trade body brands Highland Council short-term let conditions as 'unnecessary', warning that self-caterers will be hit in the pocket
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Scotland's self-catering trade body have hit back at "wholly unnecessary" conditions set out by Highland Council in draft licensing proposals, warning that such measures will hit self-caterers in the pocket and burden already under-resourced councils.
Short-term let owners must obtain a license from October 1, following a Scottish Parliament decision to introduce regional licensing schemes in an effort to control the upsurge in AirBnB style properties.
Highland Council carried out a consultation between June 21 and August 5 and have now released their draft short-term let licensing policy. The details of the survey can be accessed here.
But the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has expressed concern that many of the draft policy statements from councils exhibit a presumption of bad practice in the short-term let industry.
Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said in an ASSC report: "We believe many of the additional conditions set out by Highland Council are wholly unnecessary.
"They propose limitations on the use of hot tubs. It remains to be seen how this apparent ‘hot tub curfew’ can be enforced by council officers. Will councils employ someone to ensure that guests are using hot tubs at appropriate hours?
"This appears to be another instance of short-term let businesses being discriminated against compared to other accommodation providers or types of property."
Additional conditions in Highland Council proposals include a requirement, where investigations of concerns regarding noise are ongoing, for the licence holder to take reasonable steps to prevent and deal effectively with noise, nuisance or antisocial behaviour by guests to anyone else in or local to the property.
Specifically, the license holder could be required to ensure that:
- bedrooms, living room and hallway in the premises must have a suitable floor covering in order to minimise impact and airborne noise affecting any properties below. (i.e. carpet or vinyl floor covering with quality underlay)
- noise monitoring equipment should be maintained in full working order and that the maximum reading does not exceed decibel level (to be determined) between 7am and 11pm.
- guests must not first arrive or finally depart from the property between the hours of 11pm to 7am. The licence holder must advise guests of this as part of their booking terms and conditions.
- guests must not use a hot tub after 10pm
- guests must not play amplified music within the garden or external areas after 11pm where it would impact neighbouring residents.
Ms Campbell added: "Applying a condition that the licence holder must ensure that bedrooms, living room and hallway are carpeted is disproportionate and is yet another cost levied on businesses. This would not be asked of a private landlord renting out a property where noise complaints had been levelled by neighbours, so short-term lets operators should not be discriminated against in this manner.
"Incidents of anti-social behaviour in self-catering premises are rare. Last year, the ASSC submitted Freedom of Information requests to all thirty-two local authorities in Scotland and the results of this show that there is a mismatch between perception and reality. The number of ASB complaints against holiday lets in Scotland over the past five years is minimal.
"Operators want harmonious relationships with neighbours and the local community – it is not in their interest to allow any anti-social behaviour in their business.
"At a challenging time for small business, not only due to pandemic recovery but the impact of the cost of living crisis and in particular increased energy bills, these often unnecessary additional conditions will not only hit self-caterers in the pocket but will also burden resource-stretched councils."
Members of the Highland Licensing Committee reviewed consultation responses at their meeting on September 6 and agreed to amended conditions and a final policy statement, taking into account the consultation responses.
A copy of the report can be found here: https://www.highland.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/4664/highland_licensing_committee.
It was noted that 61 per cent of responses to the consultation were in favour of the proposed additional conditions set out, however concerns have been raised over whether they should apply to all types of accommodation.
Claire McArthur, principal solicitor for Highland Council said: "There was some confusion in the public consultation as to some of the additional noise conditions being applied to all properties. That is not the case. They will only be applied to properties where there are ongoing concerns over noise complaints. These are conditions that could be applied at that stage. They will not be applied as a blanket across the board.
"Concerns were also raised about the practicality of restricting guests to certain departure and arrival times given early travel connections. This would only be applied if there was a particular noise issue at a property. It would not be applied across the board."
