To ask the Scottish Executive which of the issues in relation to antisocial behaviour and the licensing process for houses in multiple occupation highlighted by Sarah Boyack MSP in her speech on the antisocial behaviour framework on 2 April 2009 (Official Report c. 16538) it considers need to be addressed and what action it envisages taking to address them.
In her speech on 2 April 2009, Sarah Boyack MSP referred to an alleged loophole in the licensing process for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), because that regulatory regime does not cover short-term lets, in which antisocial behaviour may take place.
HMOs are required to be licensed primarily to ensure they meet standards designed to protect their residents from the risks of living in this type of accommodation. In order to obtain a licence, the owner of the property may, for example, be required to carry out alterations to the property to make it suitable to be the home of the relevant number of occupants.
As the Scottish Government has previously made clear, we have concerns about the position of tenants in multiply-occupied short-term lets, who may be living and working in Scotland, but are excluded from the protection of HMO licensing because landlords claim that the property is not the only or principal residence of the occupants. This particularly affects migrant workers. We will discuss with stakeholders the possibility of including such short-term lets in licensing, in order to extend to such tenants the protection it affords. Landlords of these properties are already required to register with local authorities.
We have no plans to extend HMO licensing to holiday accommodation, where the occupants are merely visiting an area, not living and working there. Such regulation would have a considerable impact on the tourism sector. Under antisocial behaviour legislation, local authorities have powers to deal with antisocial behaviour in such premises, including issuing on the spot fines and seizing noise-making equipment.
The implications of including any category of property within HMO licensing go far beyond issues relating to antisocial behaviour and it would not be appropriate to extend HMO licensing to any category of accommodation solely to address such issues.