Badenoch and Strathspey are set to become the second part of Scotland to have a control area for short-term rentals (STLs) after Scottish ministers approved the move.
The policy will require STL operators to apply for planning for a change of use in order to continue their rental business or start a new one.
A similar control area was approved for Edinburgh in the autumn.
The Scottish government said Airbnb’s views were taken into account during the approval.
the notice of decision read: ‘Following the submission of the council’s request to ministers, further correspondence has been received from Shepherd & Wedderburn on behalf of Airbnb. The Ministers have considered this correspondence in this decision on the proposed designation. The correspondence does not change the Ministers’ view that the proposed designation of the STLCA is warranted and reasonable.
Earlier this month, the local authority present your policy proposal for how the STL control area will be implemented. He argued that the policies were developed to control short-term secondary tenancy in Ward 20 to help tackle the rural housing crisis and support rural communities.
Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said Scottish ministers’ decision “is based on such flimsy and unproven grounds”.
Ms Campbell added: ‘As the initial consultation showed, the responses for and against were evenly split. We have warned of the unintended consequences of this measure and the lack of empirical data to support it, and are disappointed that our concerns have been ignored for an industry that generates over £200m a year for the economy of the Highlands.
“Although municipal budgets are being hit at a time when they can least afford it, there is no evidence that this policy will work to solve housing problems. Instead of taking a holistic approach – for example, building more affordable housing or acting on empty homes – cracking down on short-term rentals is seen as a simplistic panacea.
“This is deeply depressing news after we welcomed the decision to suspend applications for short-term rental licenses for existing operators. It seems the Scottish Government is giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
Comments are closed.