Politicians in a city with one of the UK’s most frenzied short lets markets are pledging to return Airbnb style units back to their mainstream rental and sales sectors.
In its manifesto for the May local elecitons, the Scottish National Party says new and existing short-term let operators in Edinburgh will be obliged to apply for official planning permission from the city council if they are to continue.
In recent years Edinburgh has been cited as seeing the densest concentration of Airbnbs in the UK, with up to 100,000 listings - a figure attracting criticism from politicians, charities, and long term rental trade bodies too.
The SNP is claiming that if it retains control of the city after the May poll, it will set out that conversion of housing into other uses - such as short lets - will be treated the same way as demolition. Permission will be granted only where there is an exceptional case for it.
Holiday lets that do not involve a whole property conversion will be excluded and will continue as at present, including the letting out of spare rooms or temporary lets of a main residence, particularly during the city’s internationally renowned summer festival period.
Adam McVey, leader of the SNP on Edinburgh City Council, says: “Housing is in high demand in Edinburgh because so many people want to live and work in our amazing city. We simply can’t go on with thousands of properties that were built as homes being run as hotels.
"We need to bring these residential homes back to being homes for residents so people in the city have affordable places to live.
“In city centre areas especially, the concentration of holiday lets converted from flats has created a local shortage of housing and sent rents upward. Many Edinburgh residents have also experienced constant noise nuisances, serious disturbances and disruption by having to share a stair with properties never designed to be operated as visitor accommodation.”
“Websites that started as a perfectly reasonable way of making money by renting out a spare room are more and more being used by big investors to buy up whole residential homes and market them to tourists, all year round.”
He continues: “Meanwhile the hotel and B&B sector has suffered as they have been undercut by rivals who have operated without permission and without the same requirement for safety checks.
“Conservative councillors are opposing plans to act. Voters should know that the best way to get action on this is to vote in SNP councillors and prevent the Tories from ripping up our hard-won progress.
“We want a city centre people can live in and this is a workable plan that will turn thousands of properties back into homes once again.”
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