Registration

[Nicola3019]

Good morning all, I have rented my property as a short term let for 15 years and decided to try it as an  Air BnB. I feel that holiday letting, in my opinion, is the way to go. I am registered as a landlord for short-term let's. Can anyone answer.... am i halfway there as far as registering as a holiday let, or will the local council  just make me apply from scratch as its now an air bnb ? 

[Fiona256]

I suspect you will have to start from scratch. But the way to find out is to contact your local council department which deals with the STL licence. You have until the end of September to get your application in.

[Nicola3019]

Thank you Fiona. I went down the air bnb route as the laws around property letting and protecting the tenants was getting ludicrous.  It seems I've went from the frying pan in to the fire ! I will get on to South Ayrshire tomorrow. 

Do you know if I should be paying council tax for the property. It was the responsibility of the tenant before but wondered if I need to pay it or is there special exemptions for air bnb ?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nicola3019 If you succeed in being allowed to do holiday lets then you should register for business rates. BUT the rules are changing fast. In England you qualify if you actually rent for 60 (70?) days per year. In Wales its a whopping 210 days per year! If you don't get business rates then in Wales the council tax can be factored up THREE times. Sorry I don't know where the Scots are on this one.

[Helen3]

Normally if you're running a business you pay business rates but this is something you can also check with your council @Nicola3019 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nicola3019 What is your definition of a short term let? To my knowledge even Scotland is not discriminating against Airbnb - just short term lets in general.

[Nicola3019]

Hi there apologies i wasnt very clear. I always rented out my property on a short assured tenancy basis which as a landlord I had to be registered with the local council. I  have my fire safety certificate, my landlord license and every 5 years I get my pat test certificate and EPC. The property meets all the standards for short assured let but just wondered if these documents will transfer as I'm now using the property as a holiday let. Theres nothing changed within the property and I've got all the certificates so wasn't sure if I had to do a full application to the council or not. Hope that makes sense. Im mixing myself up these days !

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nicola3019 For holiday lets some of these things (such as the EPC) are not required. However as Scotland is waging war on holiday lets by allowing local councils to create registers etc I suspect you may need to start the process again I am afraid with no guarantee of success.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nicola3019 I am wrong! EPCs are needed for holiday lets in some parts of Scotland. Madness as the guest doesn't pay the bills but there are many mad things in politics both sides of the border!

[Fiona256]

You can use the documents you have if they are in date.