Short-term lets: business and regulatory impact assessment

O: Implementation and delivery plan

220. The 2020 Licensing Order and Control Area Regulations were laid in the Scottish Parliament on 14 December 2020.

221. The Control Area Regulations came into force on 1 April 2021.

222. The 2020 Licensing Order was withdrawn in February 2021, in order to address concerns raised by members and stakeholders, and to develop draft guidance. A revised Licensing Order was published in draft in June 2021, for consultation, and was laid in the Scottish Parliament in November 2021. However, local authorities will have until 1 October 2022 to establish a licensing scheme in their area and open it to receive applications. Local authorities may choose to establish control areas if these are right for local circumstances.

223. The Licensing Order gives existing hosts until 31 March 2023 to make an application for a licence. Existing hosts will be able to continue operating whilst their licence application is being processed. By 1 July 2024, all hosts operating short-term lets in Scotland will require a licence to do so.

224. The Scottish Government published draft guidance on the licensing scheme for hosts and operators, licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms in June 2021. This guidance will be finalised over the winter, with input from the stakeholder working group, in early 2022. The stakeholder working group will be reconvened over the winter to finalise the guidance on the licensing scheme and prepare for implementation in 2022. The Scottish Government will work with local authorities and others to ensure that hosts and operators are aware of the requirements of the licensing scheme and can take action to get ready.

O1. Post-implementation review

225. We will monitor and evaluate the impact of our proposals to ensure that they are effective and targeted.

226. We have committed to work with local authorities to review levels of short-term let activity in hotspot areas in summer 2023. This review will identify whether any further measures are required to control numbers but also seek to confirm that the wider sector is still healthy, making sure we have avoided unintended consequences.

227. We have also committed to make further provision in this Parliament around fines and sanctions which we are not able to progress through secondary legislation (as set out above at paragraph 215 and following).