Caithness 'unlikely' to need controls on AirBnB-style lets

A council reports suggests Caithness does not currently need a control zone

Caithness is unlikely to need a short-term lets control zone to limit numbers of AirBnB-style properties, say Highland Council officials.

The local authority has powers to introduce the zones to help tackle housing shortages.

In a report, officials said analysis suggested new-build completions were being transferred to short-term letting at a higher rate than the Highlands as a whole.

But they added the number of houses involved was small in real terms and Caithness also had more affordable homes than other parts of the region.

Councillors agreed last month that individual areas of Highland Council should be left to make decisions on whether to limit holiday lets.

Officials were asked to investigate the potential of a Highland-wide control zone on short-term lets as a way of tackling a shortage of homes across the region.

But officers said their research suggested there would not be region-wide support for such a scheme and recommended a more "tailored approach" where area committees decided on any measures.

Caithness area committee will consider suitability of a zone at a meeting next week.

Officials have recommended one is not needed at this time, but to keep the situation under review.

The Highlands has one control zone at the moment, covering Badenoch and Strathspey.

Highland Council analysis suggests high rates of short-term lets in some parts of the region, including Skye and Raasay, Lochaber, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh and Inverness.

It also suggested that across Highland 6% of potential dwellings were licensed as short-term holiday lets, but in some places the rates were as high as 30%.