As a letting agency, we have been carefully considering the impact of Scotland’s new legislation governing short-term letting on our business, and how best we can focus our operations to support our clients.
There’s no doubt that this is a challenging period for the industry. The new legislation will see licensing schemes introduced across the country, while Edinburgh’s Short Term-Let Control Zone will require short-term let landlords here to apply for planning permission to change the use of the property from residential to commercial before applying for a licence.
Given the nature of many of our current short-term properties, we sadly expect that most will not be granted a planning change of use and therefore, will not be granted a licence to operate as a short-term let. Therefore, we have now taken the difficult decision to cease managing short-term lets from the end of 2022.
A new focus brings new opportunities for Edinburgh letting
Going forward we are excited to focus on managing and building our portfolio of private residential properties (often referred to as long-term lets). We have already spoken to all our current short-term let landlords to explain our decision and have discussed the options open to them, including a change to long-term letting.
This is an exciting time for the long-term letting industry, with a robust and buoyant Scottish market withstanding current and recent challenges. Properties across Edinburgh are in high demand, with Citylets’ latest industry report showing an undersupply of long-term let properties compared to demand.
Edinburgh rent levels reflect this, with the Q2 2022 report finding average rents at an all-time high, at £1283 per month. In addition, the average time to let was just 15 days.
This change in focus to long-term letting creates new opportunities, both for our clients and for our team. We’re now considering ways in which we can further support landlords, tenants, and investors, continuing to build on the high levels of service for which we have become known.
Rick McCann, At Home In Edinburgh Director
We’re still here to help
We value every client, and we have enjoyed working with all our short-term let owners for over a decade. We hope we can continue working with our existing landlords – but we’re here to help all short-term let landlords who may need some guidance.
Our friendly team are experts in the lettings industry and in the local rental property market, so please get in touch. We’re happy to chat through the likelihood of your property receiving planning and licence approval or to answer any questions you may have about how long-term property management works or average long-term rental yields in your area.
We also offer a free property assessment service which gives you a no-obligation rental evaluation. You can book online, and we’ll give you an honest appraisal of your property’s potential, including expected long-term rental values.
Get in touch!
Give us a call on 0131 229 4001, email via our contact form or pop in and see us at 39 Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1EU.