A bid to control the number of Airbnbs and other short-term lets in Fife’s East Neuk has sparked a heated debate.
The coastal villages are a haven for visitors drawn by their traditional character alongside miles of sandy beaches and rocky coves.
And demand for holiday lets has surged in recent years as a result.
Property owners say catering for tourists is bringing in vital business and boosting the economy.
But many locals say they are being priced out of the housing market as once-affordable homes are snapped up for 10 to 20% above the asking price.
Fife’s Liberal Democrat group says the time has come to strike a balance.
And they are asking councillors to support the introduction of a control zone for the East Neuk.
We decided to gauge opinion ahead of a Fife Council debate on the issue on Thursday.
And we spoke to:
- Local people who can’t afford to buy a home in the villages where they grew up.
- Holiday let owners who fear for their livelihoods and say they are the scapegoats for a property boom.
- And an estate agent who says houses in the East Neuk regularly sell for £100,000 over the asking price but a control zone isn’t necessarily the answer.
‘Families are being priced out of the market’
Darren Peattie is angry and, in his own words, is kicking up a bit of a stink.
“Families are being priced out of the market and it’s got to stop,” he said.
Darren moved back to Fife in 2018, after 18 years in the Highlands, to set up his business, the East Neuk Salt Co.
And he was shocked by the price of a home big enough for his growing family.
“I have a wife who works as a chef and two children and we can’t afford to buy a house,” he said.
We’re being driven out of our villages.”
Darren Peattie.
“We’re currently living in a privately rented ex-council house because houses that come up for sale are not accessible to people like us.
“When I read a house in Elie had sold for £600,000 above the asking price I was absolutely fuming.”
And Darren believes he knows where the blame lies.
“People who are buying property, whether it’s for a second home or a holiday let, are taking up the housing stock,” he said.
“They’re using them for investments, creating bidding wars and they’re out-pricing the locals.
“It’s like the Highland clearances, except it’s the coastal clearances. We’re being driven out of our villages.”
And Darren is just one of many people who feel this way.
Others said it was “sickening” that young people couldn’t buy a house and claim villages are dead during the winter when holidaymakers go home.
‘We are scapegoats and our livelihoods are on the line’
Meanwhile, Daryl Wilson owns three properties which she lets out to visitors.
And she believes holiday let operators are being used as scapegoats for a wider housing crisis across Scotland.
If the East Neuk becomes a planning control area, she and other holiday home-owners will have to apply for retrospective planning permission to run their businesses.
“Effectively, my livelihood is on the line,” she said.
And Daryl believes people are confusing holiday lets with second homes.
Why are legitimate businesses being scapegoated?”
Daryl Wilson.
“Elie in particular has a lot of second homes that sit empty for a large part of the year,” she said. “They bring nothing to the economy.
“But I employ three part-time staff and we are fully booked from the start of May until the end of October.
“There’s real demand for accommodation in the area and we as business owners pay our taxes like everyone else.
“And everyone that stays with us uses the local shops, taxis, watersports etc, while we employ painters and plumbers to fix up our properties.
“Why are legitimate businesses being scapegoated?”
‘No evidence’ control zone is needed
Daryl is supported by Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers.
Fiona says there is no evidence of a link between the professional self-catering sector and a lack of affordable housing.
She supports the introduction of planning control zones where there is an evidence-backed reason.
However, she adds: “They should be used cautiously and not as a quick populist fix.
“The lack of available housing has the same cause that it has had for decades: Scotland simply isn’t building enough houses to keep up with demand.”
‘They need to release more land for housing’
But estate agent Jim Parker says there’s no doubt buyers from outside the area are outpricing locals.
And the situation has been exacerbated by lockdown as people discovered they could work from anywhere.
Savills revealed in July houses in the East Neuk were selling for 44% above those in neighbouring Fife towns and 28% above the Scottish average.
And Jim, who runs Fife Properties, has found the same.
“It’s not uncommon to have an offer £100,000 over the asking price,” he said.
“That’s the price of a house in Leven.”
He added: “You can buy a detached property in the East Neuk for the same price as a two-bedroom flat in Glasgow’s Merchant City.
“Because lockdown has taught us we can work remotely, people are taking the option to move.
“That’s happening here and it’s pushing up prices.”
It’s a combination of everything that’s brought it to this and it’s a double-edged sword.”
Estate agent Jim Parker.
And Jim said the trend for home working had hit just as people looked for different ways to invest their money.
“People aren’t getting the same return from the bank and their most lucrative option is property, particularly Airbnb,” he said.
“It’s a combination of everything that’s brought it to this and it’s a double-edged sword.
“The reality is we have people bringing in tourism that creates jobs for people locally.
“If that tourism disappeared so would many of the jobs and people still wouldn’t be able to buy a property.”
Jim agrees the only way to solve it is to build more affordable houses.
“It’s simple supply and demand – saturate the market and it will bring prices down.”
What happens next?
The Scottish Government’s control area regulations came into force on April 1.
If Fife Council supports the Lib Dem motion on Thursday the proposal will go out to public consultation.
And it would then be passed to Scottish Government ministers for approval.
Edinburgh council chiefs are already consulting the public about a possible control zone in the city, which has the highest number of short-term lets in Scotland.