There’s one thing that all sides agree on. That something must be done.

However, for the regulation of the rising number of Airbnb-style short-term lets in Scotland, that seems to be as far as it goes.

It involves emotive issues around confronting the housing shortage, anti-social behaviour, and maintaining a business in an already difficult environment that is punctuated by cost of living expenses ranging from mortgage rates to energy prices.    

Legislation that has already been put back six months is due to go live on October 1, despite ongoing calls for a further delay.

This comes as the local authority that has championed the new rules, City of Edinburgh Council, again became the focus of attention when its leader Cammy Day said he supported the business lobby seeking a postponement.

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This is a story that affects people who run businesses such as holiday cottages, B&Bs, guest houses, pods, and yurts, people who operate Airbnb-style properties, people who live in tenement blocks.

Striking figures that estimate the “worst-ever scenario” for the reduction in self-catering businesses in the Scottish capital to be 80% will prompt a different response from different quarters, but if anything near this amount of holiday lets were to be wiped from the city availability list, who would put up the visitors and performers for the Edinburgh festivals?

The short-term lets legislation is important because it has the potential to impact a great many individuals, including residents, visitors and workers, and businesses in the chain. It is our job to drill into the data that should inform decisions around implementation of policies many consider “unworkable”, and present the views of every side of a multifaceted argument.

EXPLAINER: Airbnb, short-term holiday lets 'decimated' by licensing

Some are pressing for an extension of the deadline. Others are anxious to press ahead. There is strong support inside and outside the industry for regulatory change, but many claim this model is flawed.

The issue remains live. It will be a tense time in the run-up to the deadline.

We have strived to unearth details around costs that range from £86 to £24,000 as well potentially daunting mandatory planning permission around which questions remain.

READ MORE: Edinburgh council leader backs licensing deadline extension

We know businesses are leaving the market rather than take the risk. In Edinburgh, an operator could pay £3,000 licence bid fee for a one-bedroom property that is non-refundable if the application fails.

We know that in some rural areas the loss of accommodation assets could dampen an already struggling industry and have a knock-on effect on local economies.

We also know that in Edinburgh there are communities who have gone through a four-year consultation process to reach this stage, and that that came after there had been a rise from eight Airbnb lets in the city in 2009 to 9,000 in 2017.