Mar

Edinburgh home-owner banned from short let in affordable housing

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Edinburgh Council is continuing its crackdown on the short-term letting sector by banning a home owner who bought a flat through an affordable housing scheme.

Enforcement officers stepped in after two neighbours
complained; one objected to noise disturbance and anti-social behaviour while
the other flagged up the fact the property had been bought through an
affordable housing initiative known as Golden Share. Under the council-backed initiative,
home-buyers can buy a property at 80% of the open market value – a significant
reduction in a block where the average property sells for just below £218,000.

Inspectors found the two-bedroom flat in
Elsie Inglis Way was being openly advertised for short-term holiday lets for
six people on various booking platforms, telling visitors they could check in
any time between 1pm and 11.30pm.

In their report, council enforcement officers
said the location of the flat on the ground floor and the number of people,
combined with the ability of guests to access areas of communal provision,
including a stairwell and landings, was having a detrimental impact on other
residents.

An Edinburgh Council spokeswoman
tells LandlordZONE: “We have taken enforcement action in this case and we’re
now working with Scottish Government to take forward new powers to regulate short-term
lets.”

The temptation to rent out to short term lets to reap the
large fees can be too great because it’s so lucrative, says Gavin Dick, local
authority policy officer at the National Landlords Association, but he adds: “There
are usually conditions around housing association purchases, such as if you
need to live there or are able to sub-let it because the council owns part of
the property.”

A licencing regime is set to be introduced by the
Scottish Government in the next couple of years.

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