Short Term Lets: Consultation on draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)

Closed 13 Aug 2021

Opened 25 Jun 2021

Feedback updated 19 Jul 2022

We asked

On 25 June 2021 the Scottish Government published a consultation seeking views on the short-term lets draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). The Licensing Order had been amended following careful consideration of suggestions from our stakeholder working group.  

The consultation focused on identifying issues and solutions only in relation to the draft Licensing Order and draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

On 25 June 2021 the Scottish Government published a consultation seeking views on the short-term lets draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). The Licensing Order had been amended following careful consideration of suggestions from our stakeholder working group.  

The consultation focused on identifying issues and solutions only in relation to the draft Licensing Order and draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

You said

There were 1,026 responses to the consultation, of which 835 were from individuals and 191 were from organisations.

On 7 October 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government wrote a letter to the Convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee setting out a number of significant and pragmatic changes to the Licensing Order. These changes were made following careful consideration of consultation responses

Overall, there were a number of comments made by respondents which set out the reasoning for their opinions, specific examples or explanations and alternative suggestions to parts of the Licensing Order and BRIA.

We did

consultation report and updated Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment were published on 23 November 2021.

The Licensing Order and Control Area Amendment Regulations were approved by the Scottish Parliament on 19 January 2022 and came into force on 1 March 2022. Local authorities will have until 1 October 2022 to establish a licensing scheme and existing hosts will have until 1 April 2023 to apply for a licence. The final deadline for all hosts and operators to have a licence is 1 July 2024.

Results updated 23 Nov 2021

On 23 November 2021, we published a consultation report on our 2021 consultation on the draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) and an updated Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

The Licensing Order and Control Area Amendment Regulations were laid at the Scottish Parliament on 22 November 2021.  Subject to the approval of the Licensing Order by the Scottish Parliament, local authorities will have until 1 October 2022 to establish a licensing scheme and existing hosts will have until 1 April 2023 to apply for a licence. 

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

This consultation seeks views on the Scottish Government's short-term lets draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). The Scottish Government intends to lay the Licensing Order at the Scottish Parliament in September 2021.

Why your views matter

We are committed to ensuring that local authorities have appropriate regulatory powers to balance the needs and concerns of their communities with wider economic and tourism interests.

In April 2019, the Scottish Government launched a first consultation and commissioned independent research into the impact of short-term lets on people and communities.  The 2019 consultation paper set out our understanding of the benefits of, and issues around, short-term lets, the principles that would help to guide our approach, and some proposed approaches to regulation. 

In January 2020, we announced plans to establish a licensing scheme for short-term lets using powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. In September 2020, we launched a second consultation. The 2020 consultation paper set out a definition of short-term lets and detailed proposals to create the licensing scheme and establish control areas.

The purpose of this consultation is to help the Scottish Government ensure that the licensing legislation laid at the Scottish Parliament in September is as efficient and effective as possible.  

We want your help in getting the details right. We are not consulting on whether to implement a licensing scheme nor the broad framework of the approach. For this reason, the response form is narrowly focused on identifying issues and solutions only in relation to the draft Licensing Order and draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

Read the consultation paper. 

What happens next

  1.  

The Scottish Government intends to lay the Licensing Order at the Scottish Parliament in September 2021.  We will also publish finalised guidance in the autumn to assist hosts and operators, platforms, and local authorities in preparing for the scheme to go live.

Subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, the Order is expected to come into force on 1 January 2022.  Local authorities now have until 1 October 2022 to open a licensing scheme to receive applications.  This is to give them sufficient time to prepare, allowing them one year from sight of the revised Licensing Order as laid.

Existing hosts and operators will have until 1 April 2023 to submit an application for a licence.  This date remains unchanged.  However, new hosts and operators will require a licence to operate after 1 October 2022.

All short-term lets must have a licence by 1 April 2024

Interests

  • Housing and Regeneration