FOI Request - Short-Term Let (STL) Licensing Costs and Income

Request 101003809444

1. Short-Term Let (STL) Licensing Costs

Please provide the total costs incurred by the council in administering STL licensing from its inception (October 2022) to date, by financial year.  If available, please break down the costs by:

a)  Staffing
b)  Systems or IT
c)  Legal advice
d)  Training
e)  Communication/marketing
f)  Other overheads

2. Short-Term Let (STL) Licensing Income
Please provide total STL licence fee income, by financial year received during the same period, including:

a) Application fees (initial and renewal)
b) Any other income attributed to the STL scheme
c) Number of licences approved
d) Number of licences pending
e) Number of licences rejected

3. Cost Recovery Assessment
a) Has the council conducted a cost recovery assessment to ensure STL licensing is being delivered on a cost-neutral basis, in line with legislation?
b) If so, please provide:

i. A copy of the most recent assessment
ii. Any internal documentation, modelling, or reporting used to support this

4. Fee Income Use
Has any Short-Term Let (STL) licence fee income been:
a) Reallocated to cover unrelated council activities or
b) Used to cross-subsidise other licensing services?
c) If yes, please provide details.

5. Staffing & Structure
a) Is Short-Term Let licensing delivered through:
i) A dedicated STL team?
ii) A wider licensing team (e.g. civic, HMO, taxi)?

b) Approximate FTE staffing allocation to STL administration.

6. Centralisation or Shared Service Discussion
a) Has the council discussed or considered any shared service model or centralised approach to STL licensing (e.g. regional team, joint IT system, pan-council admin hub)?
b) If yes, please provide a brief summary or copy of any relevant documents, proposals, or meeting minutes.