Short-Term Lets 

There has been a rapid growth of short-term lets across Edinburgh which has resulted in demand for effective regulation and control of the short-term lettings sector due to concerns that short-term lets are depriving communities of much-needed homes. The City of Edinburgh Council can use the existing powers they have through planning enforcement to investigate cases reported to them as they want properties unlawfully taken out of housing supply to be returned to being people’s homes.

 

Reporting STLs (Short Term Lets) Issues

This information can be found on the City of Edinburgh Council website.

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A short-term let is a property which is let out to visitors on a commercial basis for short periods of time. Often the whole property is let as holiday accommodation. In other cases, the host will continue to live in the property and let out a room or rooms to visitors.

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We are concerned about the impact of aspects of short term letting, such as the influence on

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• housing supply

• the city and its residents

• communities

• planning matters

• safety standards

• anti-social behaviour.

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If you have any concerns, please report on the links provided below:

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Report a problem with a short term let to planning

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Report ongoing noise or anti-social behaviour issues

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For the steps being taken to address some of the issues above, please read the committee report from August 2018 and the Council's Response to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on Short Term Lets from July 2019.

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Download the Council's best practice checklist for short term letting (PDF, 119 KB)

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Ban Anti-Tenant Ads

Airbnb management service Nestify has recently launched an advertising campaign on Lothian Buses, encouraging landlords to consider short term lets, which feeds the narrative that tenants are disposable and profiteering from property is more important than providing long term homes. These ads are also undermining the Edinburgh Council's City Housing Strategy.

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More people are becoming homeless because they simply cannot afford to pay the rent or mortgage. To highlight how unaffordable housing and in-work poverty is in Edinburgh, according to Council figures, 30% of people in temporary accommodation are working. This is utterly and immensely ridiculous.

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Yet we have Lothian Buses, a public-run transport infrastructure, promoting companies like Nestify who are actively exacerbating the housing crisis in Edinburgh, not to mention, the ad is an immense insult to tenants living in one of the least affordable places in the UK, with many struggling to afford to rent a home – never mind buy – and who live in fear of being kicked out at short notice to make way for short term lets. Questions need to be asked regarding why a public-owned transport company in Edinburgh is willing to promote these kinds of ads and not local organisations with the same ambitions as Edinburgh Council to fix the housing crisis?

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There is precedent, a successful campaign in London run by Generation Rent who also worked together with Transport for London, which resulted in new guidelines being recently announced, banning all short term let adverts: (https://www.citymetric.com/politics/transport-london-has-banned-short-term-letting-ads-4785).

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Every day millions of people see these ads and Edinburgh Council, as the largest parent of Lothian Buses (91% ownership), need to urgently review Lothian Buses’ advertisement policy. To add your voice and effect change, please sign the petition to send a message to Edinburgh Council and Lothian Buses.

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Place Edinburgh

We fully support the work of Place Edinburgh which is a grassroots group finding the balance between short-term lets and protecting liveable, affordable communities in Edinburgh.

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Housing Policies

Here are some of our policy ideas that we believe will go a long way in addressing some of the short-term let issues.

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Short-Term Lets Regulation

There has been promises to restrict short-term lets with a workable regulation/licensing system which urgently needs to be honoured as soon as possible.

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Lothian Bus Advertisement Policy Review

Transport for London's new policy, which Lothian Buses should consider adopting, states that any adverts seen to do the following would be banned from the network:

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* Imply that removing properties from the private rental market for other rental purposes, such as short term lets to tourists, can be financially or materially advantageous to property owners;
* Promote companies or services which appear to rely on property owners removing their properties from the private rented sector;
* Appear to conflate short term lets with lettings in the private rented sector – the type of lettings the advert is promoting should be unambiguous;
* Advertise services for both types of lettings;
* Use phrases or terms associated with short term lets where they are ostensibly advertising services relating to lettings in the private rented sector, or vice versa.
(Source: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/policy-guidance-short-term-lettings-advertising.pdf)