As part of its overall research, BiGGAR Economics calculated that short-term lets (STLs) contribute £154 million Gross Value Added (GVA) per year in Edinburgh supporting 5,580 jobs. Alongside this huge economic boost, it highlights that self-catering accounts for less than 1% of total housing stock.

Researchers also calculated that secondary lets only account for 0.8% of the total number of dwellings in Edinburgh, while empty homes continue to rise. BiGGAR found that economically inactive empty homes amount to 4% of total dwellings in Edinburgh.

With new Scottish Government statistics showing that the number of empty homes in Scotland has increased by 12% since 2023, while the building of new affordable housing is at its lowest in a decade, the ASSC has called for a shift in the focus of housing policy away from damaging legitimate small businesses towards addressing the real causes of the housing crisis.

The report by BiGGAR also argues that self-catering properties do not influence rent levels in the private rental sector. Edinbugh has seen a substantial decrease in such properties while annual increases in rents have surged in the city’s private rented sector at a much higher rate than Scotland as a whole.

The study also suggests that the effect of short-term let licensing and planning regulations, and the subsequent drop in the supply of STLs in Edinburgh, has reduced the city’s contribution to the overall benefits they bring to Scotland’s economy. The Highlands now accounts for the largest proportion of the total economic impact of STLs in Scotland rather than Edinburgh, reversing previous trends.

BiGGAR’s new analysis is based on the best available evidence on STLs in Scotland. The findings have been shared with Scottish Government Ministers and officials, as well as City of Edinburgh Council.

Graeme Blackett, director of BiGGAR Economics, said: “Our research concluded that it was clear that secondary lets are not a driver of the wider Scottish housing market. If short-term let regulations leads to a reduction in the supply of secondary lets, that will have a negative impact on the tourism economy, without delivering any solutions to Scotland’s wider housing challenges.”   

Fiona Campbell, CEO of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said: “This is yet more compelling evidence that short-term lets aren’t the main contributor of the housing crisis but are instead turbocharging local economies, with a £154m positive impact in Edinburgh supporting thousands of jobs.

“The current unbalanced regulatory framework does not reflect this reality and changes are needed before irreversible damage is done. City of Edinburgh Council should take heed of the report’s findings when considering their approach to planning policies and control areas to ensure the relatively small number of valuable short-term lets are protected.

“Through providing a robust and holistic analysis, this report shatters myths. Rather than the city being overrun by STLs, Edinburgh is in fact a hotspot for empty homes. For policymakers, the message couldn’t be clearer: you can’t solve a housing crisis by producing a crisis in Scottish tourism by decimating local businesses that underpin the local economy. Attention must shift to the real causes of the housing crisis.”