Airbnb-style lets could face tougher controls amid fears they are pushing up property prices and making it harder for buyers to get on the housing ladder.
A Scottish Government consultation found wide support for tougher regulations on people renting out rooms and homes, with landlords and businesses expressing concerns about short-term lets. Some complained noisy tourists were impacting on neighbours.
Scotland’s Housing Minister announced the Government will consider how to regulate the industry and manage the impact in “tourist hot spots” such as Edinburgh and Skye.
Kevin Stewart said: “Short-term lets can offer people a flexible and cheaper travel option and have contributed positively to Scotland’s tourism industry and local economies across the country.
“However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of short-term lets are causing problems and often making it harder for people to find homes to live in.The responses to our consultation confirm support for new controls over short-term letting of residential properties in these problem areas.
“We will carefully consider the evidence before setting out our proposals later this year. In the meantime we will continue to work with local authorities to support them to balance the unique needs of their communities with wider economic and tourism interests.”
Separate research into the effect of short-term lets published by the Scottish Government found a three-fold increase in Airbnb listings in Scotland between April 2016 and May 2019 – from just under 10,500 to approximately 32,000.
The research identified five key impacts of short-term lets on Scottish communities – local economic benefits, increased potential earnings for homeowners, reduced availability of residential housing, a negative impact on the quality of life for people living in areas with high-concentrations of Airbnb properties and increased congestion from tourism.
More than half of all Scottish listings (50.5%) were located in Edinburgh or the Highlands, while five local authority areas had fewer than 100 Airbnb listings.
Across the whole of Scotland, 1.2% of residential properties are now listed on Airbnb, according to the research, with some areas experiencing a much higher proportion of rented properties advertised on the website.
Skye has the highest rate of Airbnb properties, accounting for 18.6% of homes, with Edinburgh city centre having 16.7% of dwellings listed, compared to 3.2% in Glasgow city centre.
