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JACK MCKEOWN: Short term let licence scheme is a dog’s breakfast

Holiday properties can be a good thing, bringing tourists and investment. They're certainly preferable to second homes that sit empty most of the year.

Short term lets are often good for a local economy. Image: Kris Miller.
Short term lets are often good for a local economy. Image: Kris Miller.

I love property. I’ve been this newspaper’s property writer for almost 10 years. Each week I feature a special and unique home in our Saturday magazine.

For the last eight years the Dundee Institute of Architects has invited me to be one of the judges for their annual awards. This involves touring Tayside and Fife to see extensions, new builds and all sorts of amazing grand designs.

I’ve explored more than 500 exceptional homes in Dundee, Angus, Perthshire and Fife. I’ve met many wonderful people – house sellers, architects and builders – some of whom have gone on to become good friends.

Property is also what I do in my spare time. Around 10 years ago when I was 35 I recognised newspaper sales were declining and this job might not see me through to my retirement. I sold my detached Victorian house and bought a fixer-upper garden flat in Dundee to live in.

Building a business

With the leftover cash I put deposits on three flats and since then I’ve gradually built up a modest property business that helps ensure I’ll be able to heat and eat during my dotage.

I realise that makes me an evil landlord. But every one of the flats I’ve bought had been sitting empty for months before I purchased them. I wasn’t stealing a home from a first time buyer. And they’ve all been done up nicely, with new bathrooms and kitchens.

My favourite one is our little cottage in Auchmithie. My partner and I bought the former fisherman’s cottage during covid. We paid £70,000 for it and spent six months and another £40,000 renovating it.

Clifftop Cottage.
Clifftop Cottage stripped back to its bare walls. Image: Jack McKeown.
Insulation was installed and a semi-vaulted ceiling with skylight windows. Image: Jack McKeown.

The cottage hadn’t been lived in for three years and was in a woeful state. We stripped it back to its bare walls, knocked the kitchen and living room into one open plan space, put in a semi-vaulted ceiling, added a wood burner, rewired and installed a new kitchen and bathroom. We also fitted insulation in the walls and roof to make it much cheaper to run.

Every weekend for six months we were up there stripping out, fitting insulation, buying materials, painting and so on. For all of the work involving actual skill and talent we used a fantastic building firm, JGPS, based out of nearby East Haven.

Locals supportive

The local people were really supportive. The cottage had been empty for years and they were glad to see it done up. Quite a few of them asked if they could have a look inside and we were happy to show them around.

Since the summer of 2021 we’ve operated it as a holiday rental. It’s had excellent reviews. Guests eat at the superb local But n’ Ben restaurant at least once or twice during their stay. It’s pet friendly and is a hit with dog owners who love the famous Arbroath cliff walks.

The finished cottage is used as a holiday let.
The finished cottage. Image: Kris Miller.

We pay tax on our earnings from the cottage, helping contribute to running the country, and the profit we make from it is spent locally.

So it’s disheartening that it may all come to an end. The deadline to apply for the Scottish Government’s short term let licencing scheme is tomorrow. Our application is in, but if it’s rejected we’ll have to stop operating.

Short term let licence scheme dumped on councils

Like many Scottish Government schemes (the bottle deposit scheme springs to mind) it has a noble aim but poor execution. The licencing scheme was dumped on local authorities and each one has taken a slightly differing approach.

Dundee City Council charges up to seven times as much for a licence as Angus Council. Fife Council told B&B owners they didn’t need to apply for a licence and then changed their minds just days before the deadline. Some councils want you to apply for planning permission at extra cost. Others aren’t fussed.

And the amount of paperwork is huge. We even had to submit a certificate confirming our chimney had been swept.

It’s a mess. I agree there’s a need for a licencing system but why not make it straightforward and uniform across the country? And have exemptions.

People living near championship golf courses used to get a nice little bonus by going on holiday when the Open came to their area and renting their house to rich Americans. Now they’ll need to apply for a licence to do that.

An aerial view of St Andrews - which is one of the Fife hotspots that will be affected by the short term lets licence scheme.
St Andrews is one of the Fife hotspots that will be affected by the short term let licence scheme. Image: DC Thomson.

Airbnbs are not the devil’s work. They boost tourism and attract visitors and investment. Second homes that lie empty for most of the year are a better target for people’s ire.

A few years ago when I was judging the DIA Awards we visited a townhouse on the Links in St Andrews. It overlooked the 18th hole and was owned by a wealthy American family who only used it for a week or two a year.

Sometimes they would bring friends with them and they tired of having to share the same space. So they bought the house next door to accommodate them, and it too is now mostly empty.

That’s two beautiful homes on one of St Andrews’ most exclusive streets that aren’t occupied by locals or tourists.

Homes are there to be used. Having them lie empty is the real sin.

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