MSPs agree to greater regulation of short-term lets in Planning Bill

MSPs agree to greater regulation of short-term lets in Planning Bill

Andy Wightman

Landlords will be forced to acquire full planning permission to lease homes by the night on websites including Airbnb and land for house-building will be made more affordable after changes to the Scottish Government’s Planning Bill were agreed by MSPs yesterday.

Holyrood’s Local Government and Communities Committee agreed to amend the government’s Planning (Scotland) Bill so that the amount councils pay to landowners in new “masterplan consent areas” is not inflated by the prospect of development

The committee also agreed an amendment from Andy Wightman MSP which means that changing a property from a person’s home to a short-term let will require full planning consent based on clear criteria.

Local councils would determine such applications on the basis of local policy, and the changes would not affect homeowners or occupiers who only rent out a room.

Mr Wightman said: “With average house prices seven and a half times the average salary we must take every opportunity we can to help people afford to buy or rent a home. Giving local councils the power to buy land at existing use value rather than the inflated value caused by planning permission is an important tool in the box.

“A classic example is the Waterfront in Edinburgh where there are swathes of vacant land that have been allocated for housing for years. Developers have been biding their time while the land value rises and the city’s housing crisis worsens. This land should be available for the council to buy at its current value so it can get on with the job of building affordable housing for ownership and rent.

“We also know that the uncontrolled and rapid rise in short-term lets in our cities and our rural communities is depriving families and individuals of badly-needed long-term homes. I am pleased that the Minister has agreed to discuss this matter further as the bill progresses through Parliament.”

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