Welcome to Ella's Hoose – Seven-year-old landlady's short term let in Wick
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She may be still at primary school but Ella Farquhar from Wick is beyond her years when it comes to decisions on renting out her home as a short term let.
The paper was invited by Ella's mum, Elizabeth McPhee, to the property in Wick that was left to her daughter by her late grandfather, Charles Farquhar (Decka), who passed away in December 2021.
"This is my house and I get to say what I want to do with it – keep on letting it as an Airbnb or live in it," said the youngster whose property is appropriately called "Ella's Hoose".
"It's being rented out to people who come up to stay. Some are on the North Coast 500 – I think it's a good thing for the area."
Her parents take responsibility for the property until Ella reaches 18 and can decide if she wants to keep the short term let in place, sell the property or live in it herself. At the moment, the rental funds raised are being collected for the Thrumster Primary School pupil that she can use in around 10 years time.
Mum Elizabeth said: "It was left to Ella for her to decide what she wanted to do, so me and James [her partner] sat her down and asked her exactly what she wanted to do – we could sell it and the money goes in her bank or we could run it as an Airbnb. She said she wanted to run her own little hotel. Ella's very switched on and confident when it comes to things like this."
Ella's parents invested money into the Anderson Drive property to redecorate it and bring it up to a good standard before it opened as an Airbnb rental last year. Ella even chose many of the decorative features within the house, such as the Highland cows which adorn the bedroom. "She had her full input all the way and made decisions on wallpaper and everything else."
Elizabeth said that the paperwork for short term let rentals is "not as scary" as many people might think. "We had to have it in by the first of October, 2022. You can also accept booking and receive guests while your application is being determined." Hosts who were already operating a short-term let before October 1, 2022, have until October 1 this year to apply for a licence.
The licence for Ella's Hoose was issued on February 13, 2023 and was only the sixth to be issued throughout the region. All hosts of short-term lets across the Highlands are legally required to obtain a new short-term let licence from Highland Council.
New hosts from 1 October 2022, who wish to set up and operate a short-term let for the first time, are required to apply and obtain a licence before they can accept bookings or receive guests. The new licence will require hosts to meet a set of mandatory conditions – many of which are already best practice within the sector, or required by existing law.
There are a number of conditions that hosts will need to meet in order to be granted a licence such as displaying an EPC rating on adverts and listings (where applicable), ensuring there are valid buildings and public liability insurance in place for the accommodation, arranging an electrical safety inspection and completing a Legionella risk assessment.
The tourism sector makes a significant contribution to the Scottish economy – in 2019, there were around 17.3 million overnight visitors to Scotland, spending £5.7billion. The legislation ensures that hosts meet the mandatory standards, helping to protect the positive reputation of Scottish hospitality and confidence amongst visitors and local communities.
Hosts will also be required to pay an application fee to obtain a licence, but the fee will typically vary depending on the property location, size and type of let.
For more information about the licensing scheme, whether your accommodation requires a licence and how to apply visit gov.scot/shorttermlets
The new licence is a legal obligation for all hosts and those who fail to acquire a licence will be at risk of being fined up to £2,500 and ineligible to apply for a licence for a year.
