Council to fight for Airbnb regulation

The city council will lobby the Scottish Government for a “licensing regime” to potentially cap the number of Airbnb properties in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is set to be treated differently than the rest of Scotland, with pilot measures touted to tackle concerns over “antisocial behaviour and the loss of community” caused by an influx of short term letting in the Capital.

A Scottish Government panel suggested “exploring a seasonal system in central Edinburgh” and “experimenting with a number of measures”, including a community code of conduct.

Holyrood said it would “work closely with the City of Edinburgh Council and will consider any proposals that they may have to pilot solutions”.

The council welcomed the Scottish Government’s stance.

Council housing convener, Cllr Kate Campbell, said: “The Scottish Government response was extremely positive and we are over the moon and very much looking forward to working constructively with them.

“We would like a licensing regime to give us a threshold number of days people can use properties for short-term letting in a year.”