Short-term let landlords in Edinburgh have won a third successful challenge against the council’s licensing scheme.
More than 450 landlords were thought to have been banned from operating in the Scottish capital after applying for letting licences without first receiving planning permission. City of Edinburgh Council has now withdrawn the three-month suspensions after a judge ruled it must reverse its policy.
He said the council was taking a “blanket and arbitrary approach without giving proper consideration to the particular circumstances of each application”.
Rolled out in response to concerns about the impact of a rise in properties being used as short-term lets, the scheme requires hosts to apply for a licence, while those who list entire properties on Airbnb and similar sites also need to seek planning permission, or just a ‘certificate of lawfulness’ if used as a short let for more than ten years.
The council said licences would now be issued in respect of those suspended applications which were otherwise complete and had no other outstanding issues to be determined, but it adds: “This should in no way be taken as an indication of acceptance that planning permission is not required in relation to any application.”
The Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers says the move has implications for similar requests being made in other council areas. Chief executive Fiona Campbell adds that the legislation which has been forced on the short term let sector in Scotland has, once again, shown to be not fit for purpose. “This is now the third successful challenge to the legislation, and we will continue our efforts to make any necessary interventions in Edinburgh and beyond in the best interests of our members,” she adds.
Last summer, landlords successfully challenged a presumption against allowing entire flats within the city’s tenements to be used as holiday lets.
A consultation into how the licensing scheme is working closes on 14th October.
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