MSPs have been warned that the SNP’s plans to regulate Airbnb-style short-term lets is “against the European Union’s law and guidance” despite a pledge to “keep pace” with EU law after Brexit.

Holyrood’s Local Government and Communities Committee will consider the Scottish Government’s plans for a licensing regime to be rolled out from April for short-term let properties.

Those who do not obtain a licence in time could face a fine of up to £50,000 – while council officials in Edinburgh, which has around 14,000 short-term let properties, have warned they will “require significant additional resources”, adding that the scale of short-term lets in the city “will also present challenges for the council to effectively administer”.

If approved, the proposals will come into force on April 1. But local authorities will have until April 1, 2022 to establish a scheme in their area and open it to receive applications, with existing hosts having until April 1, 2023 to apply.

The Scottish Government's Tourism Secretary, Fergus Ewing, has also warned that his own Government's plans could penalise businesses in rural parts of the country as part of attempts to address issues with short-term lets in Edinburgh.

READ MORE: SNP minister: Short-term lets plans could penalise rural businesses

The Scottish Government brought forward plans to “keep pace” with EU laws after the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31.

Speaking in December, when MSPs voted in favour of the EU Continuity Bill, the SNP’s Constitution Secretary, Mike Russell, said the legislation “will enable us, in devolved areas at least, to maintain alignment with Europe, when appropriate and practicable to do so”.

But the European Holiday Home Association, representing European short-term lets has written to Housing Minister Kevin Stewart and convener of the local government committee, James Dornan, to warn the plans would be a shift away from Brussels and “does not respect the EU core principles” including “freedom to provide services, proportionality and justification of measures being planned to be imposed on the sector”.

In his letter, Carlos Villaro Lassen, secretary general of the European Holiday Home Association, added: “The United Kingdom has left the European Union on 31 January 2020, however, taking into account Scotland’s positive attitude towards the EU, we would like to highlight that the proposed laws are against the European Union’s law and guidance.

READ MORE: Airbnb warns SNP legislation 'threatens Scotland's economy'

“As a short-term rental sector, we are absolutely against the Scottish Government’s intention to immediately apply a measure of last resort – introduce licenses and control areas for short term rentals, especially during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The organisation has called on the SNP to “consider valuable work done by the European Commission”, and pause the plans until a study is published on regulation of short-term lets by the end of the month – rather than “apply the most extreme measures without the necessity and/or justification”.

Mr Lassen added: ”The overall aim of this research is to map different registration schemes imposed on short-term rental providers across Europe in order to assess their impact on a variety of groups and suggest a ‘Holy Grail’ registration scheme that would help to achieve the policy objectives and at the same time would be proportionate on short-term rental providers.

“We are in an agreement with the European Commission that a step-by-step approach to regulate short-term rentals when it is justified and proportionate should be in place.

READ MORE: Brexit Bill passes Holyrood to allow Scotland to ‘keep pace’ with EU law

“The introduction of each more far-reaching step is only possible if the previous step has been taken and clear evidence shows that taking the next step is necessary and proportionate to achieve the policy objectives.”

Mr Stewart said the plans "do not go against EU law and guidance”.

He added: “Our proposals on short-term lets are in response to concerns raised by residents and neighbours around safety, antisocial behaviour and the displacement of communities.  Our proposals give local authorities the powers they need to balance community needs and concerns with wider economic and tourism interests.  

"Our licensing scheme will help to ensure that all short-term lets across Scotland adhere to a common set of safety standards.  Many hosts will already be following these standards as a matter of compliance with existing law or best practice.  We believe our proposals are right for Scottish circumstances.

“The levels of fee will be set by local authorities but indicative fees are estimated to be in the range £223 and £377 for a three year licence.   Existing hosts and operators will have until 1 April 2023 to apply for a licence."

The Scottish Conservatives have called on ministers to halt the plans amid the Covid-19 crisis which is hitting hopsitality and self-catering businesses particularly hard.

The party's local government spokesperson, Annie Wells, said: “Our tourism industry has been devastated by the Covid pandemic and needs the SNP Government to support it right now rather than hitting them with further regulations.

“We’ve already heard Fergus Ewing admitting the uncomfortable truth. This legislation is going to punish rural communities at the behest of the SNP’s push to appease their voters in the central belt."

She added: “SNP Ministers need to listen to these serious concerns from the industry, rather than continuing to press ahead with their proposals.

“We cannot see them take their typical we know best attitude when it comes to supporting vital tourism businesses. They should delay these plans while they are still being heavily impacted by Covid.”