Open letter to Highland Council signed by community groups and trade unions calls for visitor levy to be used to tackle housing crisis
Community groups and trade unions have joined forces to step up calls for a proposed tourist tax in the Highlands to be used to address the housing crisis.
Living Rent Highland has sent an open letter, signed by several organisations, to Highland Council saying that the rise in housing stock being used as second homes or short-term holiday lets is leading to communities being decimated by the influx of transient visitors.
It urges the council to implement an eight per cent visitor levy and to ringfence some of the funds raised on extending and improving Highland social and affordable housing.
Those backing the call include representatives of Highland Pride, Highland Food Bank and the transport union, RMT.
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The council, which has just concluded a public consultation into plans to introduce a tourist tax, says a five per cent levy could raise about £10 million a year which could be spent on public infrastructure which is under pressure due to a huge number of tourists.
But Living Rent Highlands and other campaigners want the council to go further and say workers who keep tourism afloat are being forced out due to their inability to find anywhere to live.
They say in contrast to urban areas, commuting is not often a viable option for many Highlanders due to the accessibility and travel distance across rural Scotland.
The letter states as thousands leave their home towns in search of available housing, it is directly impacting on Highlanders familial relationships and social lives.
“Not only is moving away from family and friends a stressful experience but the forced assimilation into urban city life can have a detrimental impact on mental and physical wellbeing,” it states.
Jacqueline McCaffrey, founder of the community-run food bank, A Helping Hand in the Highlands, is among the signatories.
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“We would like the tourist tax to go towards the Highlands housing and homeless crisis because in this day and age no one should be homeless,” she said.
“There's far too little funding to enable this to be the case therefore using tourists’ funding will help with this issue.”
Conor Cheyne, of RMT Inverness said: “We signed this open letter to ensure future generations can live, work and thrive in the Highlands. We need affordable housing.
“Short-term profiteering is devastating the Highlands both economically and demographically.”
Simon Allison, of Highland Pride which works to advance the wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community in the Highlands, also signed the letter.
“Our community is more likely to become homeless, or to be trapped in dangerous or unsatisfactory housing,” Simon said.
“As an organisation we exist to highlight these issues and signpost where we can, as well as making our community visible and amplifying their voice.
“Signing the open letter was the best way we feel to start to work harder on these issues.”
Louis McIntosh, Living Rent Inverness community organiser, said the adverse impacts of over-tourism on housing and daily lives had been ignored for too long.
“Enough is enough,” he said.
“After declaring a housing emergency, it is time that this council takes proper action to ensure that the Highlands does not continue to be the playground of the rich and a site for industry to continue to extract eye-watering profits from.
“This must mean committing proper money to delivering council homes for the Highlands so that everyone has access to a safe, secure, affordable home.”
The council is fully considering the representations made during the visitor levy consultation and expects it to take “some time”.
It will be working with accommodation providers to review the proposal to try and address concerns in the most positive way possible.
Should councillors agree this spring to a scheme, the earliest it could be implemented is winter 2026.
