A Conservative Councillor is horrified that he is no longer able to swap his home for holidays without applying for a short-term letting licence and paying a fee.
Councillor Angus Forbes, who represents the Carse of Gowrie ward, has been a vocal critic of the SNP Government’s short-term let licensing scheme since it was introduced, yet it never occurred to him that he would need to apply for one himself when he wants to go on holiday.
Commenting, Councillor Forbes said: “We are regular home swap holiday makers - we have swapped with families across America, Canada and New Zealand over many years and always had wonderful times staying away from regular tourist spots and in private homes. Not only is this financially beneficial but more importantly it’s much more fun than staying in a tourist hotel and we get to meet wonderful people at the same time.
“We had a fantastic swap in Seattle where we found ourselves in a swap that was built on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean where we could sit in the hot tub and watch the sun set over the ocean. We still keep in touch with home swappers we have swapped with decades on and some of them are firm friends.
“However, matters have now changed due to the expense and bureaucracy involved in the scheme. The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers has pointed to estimates by the economic consultants Biggar that the policy could cost £133million and more than 7,000 jobs. In a survey it conducted, 61% of some 1,200 small accommodation providers who responded said that they intended to leave the sector within the next year.”
Councillor Forbes continued: “Scotland in general is a very popular spot for swappers from North America. We get requests almost every week for swaps with the USA or Canada but sadly we can’t accept them all and it looks like we won’t be able to accept any of them after October.
“This is a typical SNP mess where they set out to solve a very specific problem, the legislation gets out of hand and they end up with unintended consequences that they have not considered. There is no way that me swapping my house with a family in America for two weeks in the summer is having an impact on the availability of affordable homes, nor will it cause any inconvenience for my neighbours who, in the past, have welcomed those visitors with open arms and made friends themselves.
“However, my holiday issues are nothing compared to the vast number of small businesses who see their livelihoods being destroyed by a Government that is completely out of touch with small businesses.
“Home exchange.com - the most popular online agency - shows 359 homes for swap in Scotland and Love Home Swap shows a further 216. There are other smaller and specialised agencies as well so there will be around 1,000 homes in Scotland currently available for swap and I would be willing to bet that none of them know about this legislation.”
