The Economic Impact of Short-term Lets in Scotland

Properties used for self-catered accommodation account for less than 1% of Scotland’s total housing stock and support economic activity in the country’s tourism sector, worth £864 million GVA.

Short-term lets provide self-catered accommodation for guests across the country. This can include home sharing or letting out specific rooms of the house. Secondary Lets are properties whereby the entire home is available for guests, i.e. the owner does not live in the property. This type of accommodation tends to attracts guests looking to stay in the accommodation for extended periods of time and provides facilities that support day-to-day living.

As this type of property could alternatively be used residentially, it has been argued that Secondary Lets are having an influence on the country’s housing market. Owners of short-term lets are now required to obtain a license to operate and take bookings. In some parts of the country there are additional restrictions, such as in the City of Edinburgh and parts of Highland which are classified as Short-term Let Control Areas.

The best available evidence on short-term lets indicates that Secondary Lets (full-time self-catering units) account for less than 1% of Scotland’s total housing stock. At this level, it is unlikely that secondary lets are a driver of the state of the country’s housing market. In each local authority across the country empty homes account for a greater share of the area’s housing stock.

Guests staying in short-term let properties spend in the local economy during their stay, typically in areas associated with tourism. This spend is likely to be particularly important to parts of the country that are reliant on this sector for employment and business survival. Guest spending tends to be higher than that of an average household, leading to greater economic activity from the use of a property as a short-term let.

If short-term let regulations leads to a reduction in the supply of Secondary Lets, that will have a negative impact on the tourism economy, without delivering any solutions to Scotland’s wider housing challenges.

The key findings of BiGGAR Economics’ analysis are that Secondary Lets:

• account for less than 1% of the country’s total housing stock;
• generate £864 million GVA and support almost 30,000 jobs across Scotland; and
• support greater economic activity than if the property were used residentially.

All local authorities across Scotland contribute to the sector’s economic activity, with Edinburgh and Highland collectively accounting for 44% of the total impact.

Further Reading

A link to our full report can be found here.