A number of islanders suspected accused of running holiday accommodation without a licence face potential prosecution.
Warning letters have been sent to the property landlords involved and culprits reported to police for potential investigation.
The Scottish Government introduced a licensing system to control short-term lets
including Airbnb-style properties and B&Bs.
Operating without a short-term let licence is a criminal offence. Those convicted
of flouting the law risk getting a fine of up to £2,500 and be banned from applying
for a licence for a year.
In the Western Isles the scheme is run by the comhairle with nearly 1,000 licences issued to date.
Since the new regulations came into force in October 2022, no-one in the Western
Isles has been fined for failing to register their holiday lets.
Now the council is taking a tougher approach and reporting a small number of operators suspected of accepting bookings and receiving guests at their tourism accommodation.
A comhairle spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, a small number of existing operators have not applied or submitted a competent application despite several reminders.
“We will continue to remind these operators to make a competent application as soon as possible.
“However, as they are operating illegally, we have begun referring these unlicensed operators to Police Scotland.”
Licences are required for a wide range of residential tourism accommodation such
as self-catering properties, B&B’s, guest houses, glamping pods and yurts.
Suspected illegal short-
27 October 2024
