Holiday Let & Short Term Let Health, Safety & Licensing
Thursday 3rd November, 2022 by Host & Stay
In recent months we have seen accelerated pressure across England for a licensing scheme to be imposed on short term lets/holiday lets, and with the licensing scheme now being fully published and in operation in Scotland, it is likely that England will follow the same path.
At Host & Stay we have always been advocates of health, safety and compliance requirements that follow the same regulations as we see within residential letting standards, although some of these ‘requirements’ have not been seen by many as ‘legal requirements for letting.
In Scotland, the short term let licensing scheme has now explicitly stated what must be in place before a ‘host’ or an ‘operator’ can apply for a short term let license. You can see a detailed overview of the Scotland scheme here, but we have extracted the key aspects below for quick reference:
Mandatory Conditions (in Scotland)
1. A valid EPC Certificate (currently a minimum of an E, and expected to increase to a minimum of a C by 2025) every 10 Years
2. A valid Gas Safety Certificate (where Gas is present)
3. A valid EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) every 5 Years
4. A valid PAT Test, regardless of age of the moveable appliance
5. Equipment for the detection and giving warning of fire or suspected fire, and carbon monoxide present in a concentration that is hazardous to health. It is expected that this detection equipment will need to be present every sleeping accommodation room in the premises going forward
6. A Fire Risk Assessment, and checks that all furniture is compliant with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988
7. A Legionella Risk Assessment, regardless of water supply and storage conditions
8. Planning Permission for short term let use, where applicable by council area (control zones)
9. Set a Maximum Occupancy that is safe for the property
10. A valid Buildings Insurance Policy
11. A valid Public Liability Insurance Policy (not less than £5million)
12. Proof that the property is owned by you, or leased on commercial terms that allows sub-letting on a short term basis
13. A declaration stating that you have checked the title deeds and that there are no restrictions on short letting
14. A declaration stating that you will declare your income from your short-term let activity for tax purposes
15. A declaration stating that you have checked your mortgage/with your lender that you are allowed to use the property for short term letting purposes
These requirements must be satisfied and evidenced as part of the license application process, and currently a property must have been actively taking bookings prior to 1 st October 2022 in order to keep on trading until a license is either granted or refused. A license must be applied for by 1 st April 2023 for these properties.
For any properties that were not actively taking bookings before 1 st October 2022, they cannot open to take bookings, or have a guest stay in the property until a license has been granted.
Our Thoughts
We feel that Scotland has set a precedent that England is very likely to follow, and we are therefore encouraging all of our owners to work with us on getting a full list of compliance items in place for their property as soon as possible, if they haven’t already.
If we can work together to get ahead of the regulation changes, then we can ensure we have minimal interruption to service and keep our mutual guests safe and secure.
We will be updating our data capture requirements for new properties coming onboard and we will also reaching out to our existing owners to ensure we support them through these changes as and when they arrive.
You can find out more about England’s Call For Evidence here, and also have your say.