Edinburgh is in the midst of a housing crisis and it is tenants who are bearing the brunt. The city’s explosive and uncontrolled growth in tourism over the last decade has allowed landlords to turn many would-be long term homes into extremely profitable short term lets.

In August 2023, the Council passed its licensing guidance to ensure that all holiday lets would be regulated and comply with necessary health and safety standards. This was a huge win but since then we have not seen the results the city needs.

The current plans to regulate short term lets do not go far enough. There is no meaningful plans in place to enforce the proposed new policy properly, meaning there are short term let operators operating unlawful.

The council's allowance of temporary exemptions for whole properties is far too permissive, allowing short term let landlords to apply for exemptions for the majority of the year including: large concerts, the Six Nations, the various festivals, conventions, Christmas and Hogmanay.

This incentivises STL landlords to keep properties empty as operators earn significant amounts during these periods and do not need to make them available year-round to earn a profit. This in turn takes property away from the housing market. They also can incentivise evictions of long-term tenants.

Right now, The City of Edinburgh Council is consulting on their short term let policy again. We need to make clear to the Council that they must commit to properly enforcing the short term let policy and to prioritise homes not holiday lets!

You can see our response to the consultation here. You can also fill out the council's consultation manually on this website.

The explosion of short term lets has forced countless tenants out of their communities. Those that remain have seen their rent hiked up due to the proliferation of short term lets increasing regular rent prices. We need a city which works for the people and communities that make Edinburgh so great, not just those looking to make profit.