Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen City Council wants public views on controversial short-term lets

The public were widely consulted on the short term let licensing scheme. Image: Aberdeen City Council.
The public were widely consulted on the short term let licensing scheme. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

Aberdeen City Council has launched a public consultation on the controversial practice of short-term lets.

The growth of Airbnb-style rentals in rural and island communities, as well as city tourism hotspots, has led to a public debate regarding if they help or hinder communities.

In January 2022, the Scottish Parliament passed an order that stated that all local authorities have to set up a licensing regime for short-term lets by October 2022.

To meet this obligation, Aberdeen City Council is now asking for public views on the matter before implementing their own regime.

Last month, Highland Council began a similar process, with one councillor describing it as the biggest undertaking for the licensing committee in 15 years.

Highland Council says the short-term lets licence is likely to cost between £300 and £600 depending on the business.

Airbnb is on of the biggest users of short-term rents. Photo: Shutterstock.

Convener of the Aberdeen City Council’s licensing committee, Gill Al-Samarai, said: “A public consultation will ensure that the policy is developed largely in conjunction with the residents of Aberdeen.

“It is important that we gather the views of those who will be most impacted, but we look forward to hearing from anyone with an interest in this issue.”

The hope is to improve the standard of short-term lets and balance the booming tourist sector against the needs of local communities.

Views divided on short-term lets

However, the policy has been controversial.

After the plans were announced, tourism bosses warned the crackdown on short-term holiday lets could force businesses already struggling from the coronavirus pandemic to close.

Industry giant Airbnb has described the new scheme as “one of the most bureaucratic and financially damaging red-tape regimes in the world”.

At the most recent council elections in May, all Scottish Conservative councillors rejected the plans in their election manifesto.

The public will have until August 9 to fill out the Aberdeen City Council survey, located here.

Conversation