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Category: Legislation

How Many Licences Will you Need?

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC has received clarity from the Scottish Government regarding the number of licences that will be required per business.

 This clarity is most welcome.

Accommodation located within a single premises can be covered by a single licence as set out in the Civic Government (Scotland)  Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022:

Designation of activity

4.—(1) The activity specified in paragraph (2) is designated as an activity for which a licence under Part 1 of the 1982 Act is required.

(2) The activity referred to in paragraph (1) is a short-term let on or after 1 October 2022.

(3) Accommodation that is on a single premises requires only one short-term let licence.

The provision applies to accommodation with shared facilities (such as yurts) or standalone accommodation, such as park lodges, provided they are all on the same premises.

Further details on the provisions within the Licensing Order are included in the policy note para’s 51 – 55, and guidance Pt.1 para 8.3:

8.3. You need a licence for each premises in which you let out accommodation. Premises means accommodation and land on one site; normally premises have their own postal address. So, for example, two neighbouring cottages are likely to be separate premises (each will require a licence), whereas 15 yurts in one field are likely to be counted as one premises (requiring one licence in total).

Where the premises (accommodation and land) are all contained on one site (the same postal address – to note this is different to the same postcode), then this would be considered a single premises requiring only 1 licence to cover all the accommodation units on the site.

Examples of where a single licence would be permissible:

Example Comment
Five purpose built self-catering cottages located on a single site All five accommodation units are on a single site, and therefore considered a single premises eligible to apply for a single licence.

 
Two cottages within a farm Provided the two cottages are all within the one site, then a single licence could be issued. If the two cottages have separate postal addresses, or are listed on Registers of Scotland as two separate sites then two individual licences will be required.

 
Bed and breakfast / home share arrangement where 2 bedrooms are let in a primary residence The 2 bedrooms are 2 separately lettable accommodation units within a single premises (one primary residence), therefore a single licence would be required.

Examples where a single licence would not be permissible:

Example Comment
Tenement block with 6 flats, all flats owned by the same owner and all let out as secondary lets. Each flat is a separate premises, as there are 6 accommodation units all on separate sites (all have their own postal address). Each flat requires a separate licence.
Two neighbouring detached houses owned by the same owner and let out as secondary lets. Each house is a separate premises, as they are located on separate sites with different postal addresses, therefore a licence would be required for each house.
A field with 10 permanent lodges at one end of a village, and another field with 5 permanent lodges at the other end of the village This arrangement constitutes two separate premises, as the lodges are located on two separate sites. A licence would be required for each premises.
Guest house / B&B / home sharing type arrangement with a separately bookable annex (secondary let) within the same site. Although located on a single site, the accommodation would require two different licence types (home sharing licence and secondary letting licence). Therefore two separate licences would be required:

  1. Home sharing for the guest house / B&B / home share primary residence;
  2. Secondary letting licence for the garden annex;

Short-Term Let Licensing Fees

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

Based on information by local councils, they ASSC has analysed the short-term let licensing fees published so far which strongly indicates that the figures have not been set on a cost recovery basis. For those secondary lets accommodating four or more occupants, the average fee for a license is over £1,000 which will have implications for the viability of many businesses.

  • The Scottish Government’s More Homes Division have suggested that “the majority of the fees published so far by local authorities … fall within the estimate of £218 to £436 for a three-year licence predicted in the Scottish Government’s Business Regulatory Impact Assessment, and follow our guidance to tailor according to licence type and accommodation size”.
  • However, regardless of theses assurances, it is clear that they are clearly far higher than Landlords Register Fees, of which there are three: Principal Fee: £68; Property Fee: £16 (per let property); and Late Application Fee: £137.
  • Approximately twenty (20) local councils have provided information regarding the level of fees for short-term let licensing thus far.
  • The ASSC believe that there is strong evidence to suggest that fees are not being set on a cost recovery basis, with large variations seen throughout Scotland.
  • As Table A below shows, the average fees for both homesharing/letting and secondary letting for those accommodating more than 4 occupants averages above £1,000. Such costs – coupled with compliance with existing regulation as well as energy price increases – may force some operators out of business.
  • Additional costs will have to be passed onto guests in a price sensitive market. If this becomes too prohibitive, visitors simply won’t choose to holiday using self-catering in Scotland, thereby damaging a key component part of our tourism industry.
Table A: Fees Compared – Homesharing/letting vs Secondary Letting
Homesharing/letting 3 year license Secondary Letting 3 year license
Fees range from £125 to £3600.

Median = £1737
Average across all occupancy numbers = £817
Average up to 4 occupants = £396.35
Average from 4-10 occupants = £1006

 Fees range from £250 – £5869.

Median = £2809
Average across all occupancy numbers = £880
Average up to 4 occupants = £421
Average 4 occupants or more = £1274
  • The secondary letting figures for City of Edinburgh, Dundee City Council and Perth & Kinross Council are particularly stark when compared to other local authorities for equivalent sized properties.
  • Edinburgh: 11-15 occupants is £3,872 for a one-year license and for 16-20 occupants, it is £5,264;
  • Dundee: £3,100 for 12-20 occupants on a three-year license; and
  • Perth and Kinross: £1,600 for 11+ occupants.

The following table sets out the licensing fees that have been published so far: FEES v8

North Ayrshire Short-Term Let Licensing

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC has received a note to all respondents to the North Ayrshire Council Short-Term Lets Licensing Policy Statement consultation:

It was intended that the draft Licensing Policy Statement would be discussed at the Licensing Committee meeting set for Wednesday 14 September 2022. However the consultation on the draft LPS has received an unprecedented amount of public comment, raising many issues, so in order to give the matter proper consideration the Convenor has directed that the matter will instead be discussed at a Special Meeting of the Licensing Committee, to be set just for this. That Special Meeting is likely to be on Tuesday 27 September 2022.

The date and time of that Special Meeting, and the agenda and related documents, will be available on the Council website:

https://north-ayrshire.cmis.uk.com/north-ayrshire/CommitteesMeetings/Committees/tabid/62/ctl/ViewCMIS_CommitteeDetails/mid/381/id/142/Default.aspx

The meeting will be open to the public.

In order to assist ‘Existing Hosts’ to benefit from the special rules which allow ‘Existing Hosts’ to benefit from the special rules which allow Hosts who are currently using particular accommodation without a Licence (these are called “Transitional Provisions”), the Council will soon be adding to their website:

https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/business/licences-and-permits/short-term-let-licence.aspx

details of a free-of-charge non-statutory scheme to assist “Existing Hosts” by issuing ‘letters of comfort’.

The website will include a Request Form which ‘Existing Hosts’ can use to ask the Council to confirm their ‘Existing Host’ status in relation to particular accommodation. The Council are setting-up this procedure so that the Hosts will have an ‘official’ document to show guests, listings agencies and insurance companies that they are currently entitled to operate without a Licence. The Council are doing this without any legal obligation to do so.

It is important to note that:

  • the Request Form is not a ‘licence application’,
  • the Confirmation (if issued) is not a ‘licence’,
  • the issue of Confirmation does not remove the Host’s need to apply for a Licence no later than 31 March 2023, and
  • the Confirmation can only apply to the particular accommodation described in the request (it is possible that a person might be an ‘Existing Host’ in relation to one house, but not in relation to another).

What happens after that date depends on what the Hosts do:

  • If they apply for a Licence for that accommodation no later than 31 March 2023, they can continue operating without a Licence for as long as it takes the Council to make a decision on their applications;
  • If they don’t, they must stop operating until and unless the Council has granted their applications.

Regards,

Chris Pollock

Licensing Administration Officer

North Ayrshire Council

Sent on behalf of Raymond Lynch

Senior Manager (Legal Services)

Clerk to the Licensing Committee

North Ayrshire Council