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| Hospitality Today | Winter 2020
Regulation of Airbnb
a step closer in UK?
Regulation of short-term lets on ‘peer-
to-peer’ platforms like Airbnb has been
talked about for years – the hotel and
B&B sector pushing for a “level playing
field” for hosts, and consumer groups
pressing for more safety protection for
guests. Yet governments – not least in
the UK – have regulations designed for
the industry as it was decades ago.
A decision in January 2020 by the
Scottish Parliament, however, opens
the prospect of regulation of Airbnb
and similar platforms in Scotland.
On 8 January, the Scottish Parliament
decided to give powers to local
authorities in Scotland to regulate
short-term lets (for example, Airbnb
properties), including the power to
implement a licensing scheme from
Spring 2021.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart
announced measures in the Scottish
Parliament to provide local authorities
with the ability to implement a
licensing scheme for short-term lets
from spring 2021. This will enable
councils to know and understand what
is happening in their area, improve
safety and assist with the effective
handing of complaints.
The licensing scheme will include a
new mandatory safety requirement
that will cover every type of short-
term let to “ensure a safe, quality
experience for visitors”. It will also give
councils the discretion to apply further
conditions to address the concerns of
local residents. Councils will be able to
designate control areas to ensure that
planning permission will always be
required for the change of use of whole
properties for short-term lets.
This move leaves England in a position
where visitors to England will be less
protected and less safe than visitors to
Scotland. Hospitality industry bodies
are hoping that this will add to the
existing pressure on the UK tourism
minister Helen Whatley to convene
a “round table” meeting to discuss
levelling the playing-field of regulation
and enforcement across the UK.
Meanwhile, the ECJ ruling at the end
of 2019 that Airbnb is an “Information
society service” got lots of publicity – it
was covered in the UK media almost as
if it were a “get out of jail free” card for
Airbnb, freeing them from the prospect
of being regulated.
But HT understands that that is not the
case. That judgement was a narrow one
about whether Airbnb can be regulated
in France as an estate agent, and there
is a part of the judgement (on page 13)
that has been little noticed and not
reported: