LANDLORDS in Scotland are to be forced to obtain full planning permission to lease homes by the night on websites such as Airbnb.
MSPs voted on Wednesday to include the change in the SNP government’s planning bill.
The amendment was proposed by Green MSP Andy Wightman, who has campaigned for residents affected by an explosion in short-term lets in central Edinburgh.
The Lothians MSP has criticised the ease with which landlords can let out properties for a few days to noisy stag and hen parties, regardless of the impact on neighbours.
He told MSPs last year that some residents were also disturbed by “audible sex parties”.
At the parliament’s local government committee, Mr Wightman tabled an amendment to the Planning (Scotland) Bill designed to make “short-term holiday lets” harder for landlords.
The Bill is intended to modernise Scotland’s main planning law, which predates devolution.
During line-by-line scrutiny at Stage 2 of the Bill, Mr Wightman proposed classing the change of a dwellinghouse to a short-term holiday let as a “material change of use”.
Such a change requires a landlord to obtain full planning permission, a greater bureaucratic and financial burden which could also be objected to by neighbours.
Local councils would determine applications on the basis of local policy, and the changes would not affect homeowners or occupiers who only rent out a room.
It would be for Scottish minister to offer guidance on what counts as a short-term holiday let.
The Greens later said the change was aimed squarely at landlords leasing properties per night on websites such as Airbnb, which lists more than 300 properties in the capital.
The minority Scottish Government, which opposed the amendment, could try to overturn it at the planning bill’s third and final stage, but would face cross-party opposition if it tried.
The Scottish Tories, whose leader Ruth Davidson represents Edinburgh Central where constituents are blighted by short-term lets, are in favour in the change.
Mr Wightman said: “The uncontrolled and rapid rise in short-term lets in our cities and our rural communities is depriving families and individuals of badly-needed long-term homes.
“I am pleased that the Minister has agreed to discuss this matter further as the Bill progresses through Parliament.”
At the same committee, MSPs also voted for a Tory amendment which would help councils acquire land more cheaply through compulsory purchase.
The ‘land value capture’ change enables local authorities to benefit from the increase in the value of land when it gets planning permission, with the uplift helping to pay for affordable housing and infrastructure.
It means the amount councils pay to landowners in new “masterplan consent areas” will be close to existing use value, not inflated by the prospect of development.
Arable land can increase 100-fold and brownfield land 25-fold after planning permission.
Tory MP Graham Simpson, who moved the amendment, said it would apply when a council established a Simplified Development Zone.
Tory Alexander Stewart, Labour’s Monica Lennon and Mr Wightman also backed the plan.
Mr Simpson said: “The inclusion of land value capture in this bill will enable councils to invest the money gained through their decisions to grant planning permission on affordable housing, new roads and better infrastructure.
“Importantly, this amendment also ensures that compensation is payable to those whose land is purchased. I believe that this amendment will help transform the landscape of residential and economic development in Scotland.
“Most crucially, this will enable more houses to be built, more communities to be created and
more people will have more opportunity to own their own home.”
Mr Wightman added: “With average house prices seven and a half times the average salary we must take every opportunity we can to help people afford to buy or rent a home.
“Giving local councils the power to buy land at existing use value rather than the inflated value caused by planning permission is an important tool in the box.
“A classic example is the Waterfront in Edinburgh where there are swathes of vacant land that have been allocated for housing for years. Developers have been biding their time while the land value rises and the city’s housing crisis worsens.
“This land should be available for the council to buy at its current value so it can get on with the job of building affordable housing for ownership and rent.”
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