Green light for Edinburgh short-term lets controls

There have been protests about the impact that short-term lets are having on the people who live in Edinburgh

Most Airbnb-style lets in Edinburgh will require planning permission under plans approved by the city's councillors.

Scotland's first short-term let "control zone" means any property being wholly-run for this purpose will need to apply for change of use.

The city-wide initiative will apply to future operators and current hosts.

It follows concern that such lettings have exacerbated housing shortages and fuelled antisocial behaviour.

However, others have raised concerns about the impact the new rules could have on the availability of rented accommodation.

The City of Edinburgh Council said the move would help to manage "high concentrations of secondary letting" and prevent short-term lets being set up "where it is not appropriate".

Renting out a room in your own home, or letting your home while on holiday would still be allowed under the plan, it said.

The draft proposals will now go to Scottish government ministers for final approval before being publicised for 28 days prior to taking effect.

• New rules passed for short-term lets in Scotland

• Edinburgh councillors propose plan to crack down on short-term lets

• New powers to crack down on Airbnb-style lets in Scotland

The council's planning convener Neil Gardiner said: "I think there's broad consensus on this one, it's been quite a process to get where we are and it's another step in the right direction.

"The short-term let has had quite an affect on the city right across all council wards, right out to Queensferry and the Port of Leith villages, although it is concentrated in the city centre and impacts residential amenity in various guises."

More than a third of Scotland's short-term let properties are believed to be in the capital, according to council officials.

'We're not against tourists but we want balance'

Elspeth Wills has lived in her Grassmarket flat in Edinburgh's Old Town for 50 years

Elspeth Wills, who has lived in her Grassmarket flat in Edinburgh for 50 years, told BBC Scotland short-term lets were ruining the local community.

She said: "It's a joy to live here but the whole of the Old Town is being hollowed out. It's become a tourist hotspot.

"It you're staying in a short-term let for three or four nights you're not going to be bothered about things like objecting to planning applications. It affects shopping, it affects tenement living and it affects neighbourliness.

"We're not against tourists but we want balance."

A report to the council noted there had been "long standing concern from the council and residents of the city about the impact of short-term lets".

Reporting the results of a statutory consultation on making Edinburgh a Short-term Let Area of Control, it added that 88% of the 5,600 people who responded supported the introduction of the scheme.

However, the council report noted there were "different degrees of support from individuals, community groups and other organisations".

Last week, when the council announced it would be holding the vote, Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, described the scheme as "restrictive and anti-business".

"The real problem Edinburgh has is a lack of house building, but our local authority has chosen to pick on an easy scapegoat rather than address the real and difficult issue," she said.

Story provided by local democracy reporter Donald Turvill