Short-term lets - licensing scheme and planning control area legislation: draft business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA)

O: Implementation and delivery plan

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

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

160. The 2020 Licensing Order was withdrawn in February 2021, in order to address concerns raised by members and stakeholders, and to develop draft guidance.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 has been published in draft, for consultation, and will be laid in the Scottish Parliament in September 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.

161. The Licensing Order gives existing hosts until 1 April 2023 to make an application for a licence. Existing hosts will be able to continue operating whilst their licence application was processed. On 1 April 2024, all hosts operating short-term lets in Scotland will require a licence to do so.

162. The Scottish Government has published draft guidance on the licensing scheme (see Papers 4 and 5) for hosts and operators, licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms.

O1. Post-implementation review

163. We will monitor and evaluate the impact of our proposals to ensure that they are effective and targeted. We have committed to make further provision in this Parliament around fines and sanctions which we are not able to progress through secondary legislation. At this time, we will also consider what other changes are necessary or expedient to ensure that the policy intentions are delivered.