Short-term lets - impact on communities: research

Footnotes

1. Throughout the report 'Skye' has been used to refer to the Highland Council ward of Eilean a' Chèo.

2. The secondary data analysis undertaken for this research relates to Airbnb listings only. Airbnb does not constitute the entire STLs market, since some landlords do not use this platform. However, the combined qualitative and quantitative research undertaken for this study suggests that Airbnb comprises a very substantial part of the STLs market. The data used in research was sourced from Airbnb.co.uk, based on listings online as of May 2019, and provided to the research team by Inside Airbnb, and then cleaned and filtered. Full details are provided in Appendix 1.

3. Multiple choice survey question

4. Multiple choice survey question.

5. Based on figures published by Airbnb in the "Airbnb UK Insights Report", in 2018 there were 31,000 active listings in Scotland and over 1.6 million guests, which means approximately 52 guests per active listing. To access the full report: https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/AirbnbUKInsightsReport_2018.pdf

6. Like all average values, the visitors per listing figure can mask considerable sub-national variation and in many areas of Scotland the figure will be below or above 52. From data recently published data by Airbnb, a figure of 831,000 Airbnb visitors was reported for Edinburgh in 2018 (approximately 63 visitors per listing), 51,000 in Fort William (94 per listing) and 70,000 in Skye (70 per listing).

7. As with all non-domestic premises, self-catering accommodation may benefit from zero or reduced rates through the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) providing that it has a rateable value that does not exceed the eligibility thresholds

8. 'Collaborative economy report response: June 2018' https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-response-scottish-expert-advisory-panel-collaborative-economy-report/

9. 'Scottish expert advisory panel on the collaborative economy: report', January 2018 https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-expert-advisory-panel-collaborative-economy-report/

10. Throughout the report we have used 'Skye' to refer to the Highland Council ward of Eilean a' Chèo.

11. Inside Airbnb provides publicly available information about Airbnb listings across the world based on scraped data.

12. To access the full report: https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/AirbnbUKInsightsReport_2018.pdf

13. Source: https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/AirbnbUKInsightsReport_2018.pdf

14. Source: Airbnb Position Paper, 2017

15. Source: Airbnb Position Paper, 2017

16. https://statistics.gov.scot/data/household-estimates

17. Rae, A. (2018) From neighbourhood to 'globalhood'? Three propositions on the rapid rise of short-term rentals http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/137426/

18. The penetration rates in the table above relate to the percentage of all dwellings in an area that have an Airbnb listing in them. The 'All listings' figure relates to the percentage of dwellings with any kind of listing (e.g. a spare room, or the entire property), and the 'Entire homes' figure relates to the percentage of dwellings where the entire property is listed for short-term rent.

Source for dwellings data:Scottish Government, Household Estimates,https://statistics.gov.scot/data/household-estimates

19. Source: https://statistics.gov.scot/data/household-estimates

20. Source: https://statistics.gov.scot/data/household-estimates

21. Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2016, Scottish Government

22. Like all average values, the visitors per listing figure can mask considerable sub-national variation and in many areas of Scotland the figure will be below or above 52. From data recently published data by Airbnb, a figure of 831,000 Airbnb visitors was reported for Edinburgh in 2018 (approximately 63 visitors per listing), 51,000 in Fort William (94 per listing) and 70,000 in Skye (70 per listing).

23. It should be noted that the combined base number of hosts in each area is higher than the figure for all hosts due to there being a small number of hosts with STLs in more than one of these areas; hosts were not asked to distinguish between these areas in answering this question.

24. It should be noted that the combined base number of hosts in each area is higher than the figure for all hosts due to there being a small number of hosts with STLs in more than one of these areas; hosts were not asked to distinguish between these areas in answering this question.

25. Pods are usually timber built huts designed to be used just like a tent but unlike a tent it is already set up on the site.

26. In one instance the response was coded to more than one category so the total of the following number of "other" comments sums to 43 rather than 42.

27. The balance of 4% preferred not to say, base of 227.

28. Self-catering properties, including STLs, may be eligible to switch from council tax to non-domestic rates providing that they are made available for commercial letting for at least 140 nights per financial year. Depending on the rateable value of the property, the rateable occupier may be able to claim rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS). The SBBS provides 100% relief where the total rateable value of all non-domestic premises does not exceed £15,000; 25% relief is available for premises with a cumulated rateable value between £15,001 to £18,000; where the combined rateable values of all premises does not exceed £35,000 then 25% relief is available to each premises with a value not exceeding £18,000.

29. Percentages in Figure 5 do not sum to 100 because the question was multiple choice.

30. Base is 197 in each case. The balance of 100% is "Don't know" in each case.

31. Base is 227 in each case. The balance of 100% is "Don't know" in each case.

32. Base is 197 in each case. The balance of 100% is 'Don't know' in each case.

33. Base is 227 in each case. The balance of 100% is 'Don't know' in each case.

34. Self-catering properties, including STLs, may be eligible to switch from council tax to non-domestic rates providing that they are made available for commercial letting for at least 140 nights per financial year. Depending on the rateable value of the property, the rateable occupier may be able to claim rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS). The SBBS provides 100% relief where the total rateable value of all non-domestic premises does not exceed £15,000; 25% relief is available for premises with a cumulated rateable value between £15,001 to £18,000; where the combined rateable values of all premises does not exceed £35,000 then 25% relief is available to each premises with a value not exceeding £18,000.

35. As identified above, one community participant claimed that if there are a certain number of STLs in a stair building insurance may be invalidated.

36. Residential and tourist accommodation businesses include residential letting agents, social and affordable landlords, self-catering businesses, STLs agents.

37. Funding for shared equity is underwritten by the Scottish Government and its lending regulations which prohibit certain types of subletting.

38. Analysis of Airbnb listings provided by Inside Airbnb

39. Multiple choice survey question

40. Multiple choice survey question.

41. Like all average values, the visitors per listing figure can mask considerable sub-national variation and in many areas of Scotland the figure will be below or above 52. From data recently published data by Airbnb, a figure of 831,000 Airbnb visitors was reported for Edinburgh in 2018 (approximately 63 visitors per listing), 51,000 in Fort William (94 per listing) and 70,000 in Skye (70 per listing).

42. As with all non-domestic premises, self-catering accommodation may benefit from zero or reduced rates through the Small Business Bonus Scheme providing that it has a rateable value that does not exceed the eligibility thresholds

43. Source for residents and dwellings in this chapter is https://statistics.gov.scot/data/household-estimates. Source for Airbnb listings and maps is Inside Airbnb dataset as of May 2019 as set out in Chapter 3.

44. Residents, community actors and businesses had strong opinions. Hosts identified this impact but with much less strength of opinion.

45. This established holiday home area has experienced problems to do with lack of residential housing and affordability in specific areas for some time.

46. Source: http://insideairbnb.com/

47. See this CaCHE blog on STLs: https://housingevidence.ac.uk/short-term-lets-the-need-for-balance-regulation-and-better-data/

48. e.g. Rae, A. (2019) 'The rapid rise of short-term lets and the implications for the housing market', Chapter 3 in UK Housing Review, 2019, Chartered Institute of Housing, Coventry.

49. e.g. https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/AirbnbUKInsightsReport_2018.pdf

50. Source: https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/AirbnbUKInsightsReport_2018.pdf

51. Source: https://upgo.lab.mcgill.ca/publication/short-term-cities/short-term-cities.pdf

52. Source: http://insideairbnb.com/get-the-data.html

53. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2016, Scottish Government. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-index-multiple-deprivation-2016/.

54. Numbers throughout may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

55. Household types are based on those in the Scottish Household Survey and are derived from analysis of the number of children aged under 16 and over 16, the number of adults aged 18 to 64 and the number of adults aged 65+, within each household.

56. Numbers may not sum to 100% due to rounding.