Council may face £1m bill for botched policy on Airbnb landlords

Council tax payers may have to fork out £1m because of a botched short lets policy

More than 100 short let or self catering operators have lodged formal complaints against Edinburgh council – and believe the authority may have to spend £1m on rectifying its errors.

Hefty planning application fees were imposed on the operators during the rollout of the council controversial short let licensing scheme in 2024.

For the operators combined the cost was some £300,000 but a recent Judicial Review at the Court of Session confirmed that businesses operating before September 5 2022 were not required to apply for planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness.

The council has now had to revise its policy but the operators who unnecessarily paid application fees want refunds, and they believe that with additional complainants expected, the total compensation owed could surpass £1 million in unlawfully levied fees.

Ralph Averbuch, spokesperson for Justice for Scotland’s Self-Caterers, comments:

“Edinburgh Council’s recent actions have caused immense distress and in some cases loss of employment to self-catering operators that had historically been advised no action was required other than moving from council tax rolls to non-domestic rates.

Read the full article at Landlord Today