Short-term lets, rent freeze and Association of Scotland's Self Caterers meeting requests: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. What is the current sign-up rate for short-term lets in Scotland, i.e how many have been received in each region compared to how many are registered in each region?
2. What is the rejection rate like in terms of applicants? Can you include how many applied and how many have been rejected?
3. How much money has the Scottish Government spent on legal advice and court cases in relation to the short-term letting scheme?
4. All meeting requests between the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers and Humza Yousaf, including whether they were accepted or rejected?
5. All correspondence, including internal, sent and received by the Scottish Government in regards to house swapping and house sitting within the short-term lets legislation. Can you also include all briefings prepared for ministers about this topic as well, dating between April 2023 and the date of this FOI?
6. What international evidence did the Scottish Government analyse before pushing ahead with the rent freeze, and can you supply the analysis behind the latest extension?
Response
I enclose attachments and have provided you with links to some of the information you have requested.
I have addressed each of your questions in turn for ease:
1 & 2
The current sign-up rate for short-term lets in Scotland and the rejection rate in terms of applicants.
The Scottish Government publishes quarterly official statistics about this information, which is collected from local authorities. The first quarterly publication was on 31 August 2023 covering the periods October to December 2022 and January to March 2023. On 20 November, we published the quarter covering April to June 2023. The latest publication can be accessed here
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/short-term-lets-licensing-statistics-scotland-to-30-june-2023/pages/key-points/
The next statistical publication, covering the period 1 July to 30 September 2023, is planned for release in spring next year. An exemption under section 27 (a)(i) of FOISA applies to this statistical publication as the Scottish Government are intending to publish this publication within the next 12 weeks.
You may also obtain information about short-term let licence applications by viewing public registers on licensing authority websites. The weblink to these websites can be obtained by selecting the authority names from the drop down menu on the my.gov website about short-term let licensing.
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information, which is already reasonably accessible to you or if it likely will be within the twelve weeks timeline. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
3
How much money has the Scottish Government spent on legal advice and court cases in relation to the short-term letting scheme?
I would like to refer you to the answer to question 2 that was set out in the published response to FOI request 202300368376.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202300368376/
I have set this out below for ease.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Legal advice can be provided both internally and externally and Scottish Government staff do not, as a matter of course, record the proportion of time spent providing advice on matters. It is therefore not possible to provide the cost of legal advice from the Scottish Government’s Legal Directorate in regards to legal challenges, potential and actual, around the planned short-term let licensing system.
4
All meeting requests between the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers and the First Minister Humza Yousaf including whether they were accepted or rejected.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information.
An exemption under section 38 (1) (B) applies to names or personal data that might identify people. This exemption is not subject to the public interest test so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding the information.
Please find attached 9 documents, which contains a table, which provides an overview of all of the correspondence that we have identified as being meeting requests from the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers (ASSC) and responses to these requests. I have also attached each of the documents within that table separately.
Although you specifically asked for meeting requests between Humza Yousaf MSP, the First Minister, and the ASSC, you may also wish to be made aware that Paul McLennan MSP, the Minister for Housing met with one or more representative(s) from the ASSC on four occasions between April and September 2023 as follows:
1. 18 April 2023
2. 21 June 2023
3. 11 July 2023
4. 27 September 2023
5
All correspondence, including internal, sent and received by the Scottish Government in regards to house swapping and house sitting within the short-term lets legislation. Can you also include all briefings prepared for ministers about this topic as well, dating between April 2023 and the date of this FOI.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600.
Under section 12 of FOISA, public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.
On this occasion your request will be closed. You may wish to consider submitting a further request in the future with a reduced scope to enable us to answer your enquiry without exceeding the upper cost limit.
You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: https://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.
6
What international evidence did the Scottish Government analyse before pushing ahead with the rent freeze, and can you supply the analysis behind the latest extension?
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information.
An exemption under section 38 (1) (B) applies to names or personal data that might identify people. This exemption is not subject to the public interest test so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding the information.
Some of the information you have requested is otherwise accessible. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
You asked for the analysis behind the latest extension to the Cost of Living Act. The Statement of Reasons includes an updated economic context, an analysis of stakeholder views and the overall rationale for extension.
Links to international evidence analysed, in addition to the documents released are:
“Housing in Scotland: Evidence for Scottish Government 2021-26”
Would a freeze on rents be constitutional in Ireland? – The Irish Times
Please note that much of the international evidence was considered as part of wider rent control policy development but was also relevant when we were considering the Cost of Living Act.
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