Under-fire Michael Matheson in fresh scandal after breaking own government's law on short-term lets

SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: The beleaguered health secretary faces more pressure to quit after failing to follow short-term rental rules.

Disgraced Health Minister Michael Matheson broke his own government’s law on short-term lets over his luxury holiday home, we can reveal. The SNP MSP ignored Scottish Government legislation around holiday rentals when he failed to declare his licence and energy rating on adverts for the rural cottage on Skye.

Three days after the Sunday Mail revealed ownership of the £200,000 home, ads on rental sites and the property’s own website were then updated with the missing information. Opposition politicians claimed it was another cover-up by Matheson and urged FM Humza Yousaf to finally ditch the under-fire minister.

Last month, Matheson was forced to admit that his family ran up an £11,000 data bill watching football matches on holiday, which he initially said was “parliamentary business”.

Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie MSP said: “Once again the embattled Health Minister has found himself at the heart of a scandal. This will pile more pressure on Mr Matheson as his flagrant disregard of his own government’s rules comes to light. It’s time for Michael Matheson to step aside as he is clearly preoccupied when his entire focus should be on tackling the crisis in the NHS.”

The Scottish Government legislation on short-term lets came into force on October 1, 2022, and owners had until October 1, 2023, to obtain a licence to keep operating.

According to the new laws, the homeowner “must ensure that any advert or listing placed on or after you are granted a licence includes your licence number” and all online adverts should be updated with the number “as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving your licence.”

Matheson was granted a temporary licence by Highland Council on September 18, 2023, and according to the law “you should use the temporary licence number or provisional licence number on your advert or listing” if you don’t have a permanent licence.

The legislation says local authorities can take action such as issuing enforcement notices to anyone who is not complying with the new rules. It also states as a “mandatory condition” that you “need to display the EPC rating in all adverts” for short-term lets.

So far, Yousaf has stuck by his health secretary but sources said he was on his “last life” with the First Minister. Matheson’s two-bedroom cottage on Skye makes between £10,000 and £15,000 a year, according to his register of interests, but he claims it doesn’t make a profit due to running costs.

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At £875 a week to rent, the home can only be occupied by holidaymakers for a maximum of 17 weeks a year. If so, Matheson is at odds with his own party’s position on second homes.

Chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers (ASSC) Fiona Campbell said: “While the ASSC have fought the Scottish Government’s erroneous Short Term Let legislation for many years, it is now law and we would encourage anyone who operates an short-term let, whether a member of ASSC or not, to do so while being compliant with the laws of the land.

"A government minister should lead by example and comply with the government’s short-term lets policies. He should be doing absolutely everything right. You have to display your EPC rating on every online and offline advertisement, and now the licence number.

“It is an additional regulatory burden for no demonstrable benefit, but it is the legal position so a government minister should know better. It is clearly time for a meaningful review of this legislation."

The SNP brought in the short-term lets legislation in part to try to address the lack of affordable homes for local people particularly in rural areas.

In many areas, including on Skye, local people say they are either forced to move away or their children can’t afford to buy a home because they’re priced out due to holiday homes.

During a Holyrood debate on the issue in September SNP MSP for the Western Isles Alsdair Allan said: “In many places, people are simply being priced out of their own communities, and I cannot help but note that those are the areas where there has been a massive proliferation of short-term lets.”

Skye is one of the areas with a high number of holiday homes.

On the stretch of road where Matheson’s own cottage sits there are at least nine other holiday rentals and official figures from 2019 show the island had more than 1000 short-term lets.

John Findlayson, an independent councillor for the Eilean a’ Cheo ward, which includes Skye, said: “The issue of second homes is an issue that really affects places like Skye, Raasay and the whole of the west coast.

“Recently, I was in conversation with a resident of Plockton who indicated 40 per cent of the houses in the village were only occupied for a few weeks of the year and two traditional properties went on the market this year for just under and just over half a million pounds.

“The same is being experienced by families on Skye and Raasay where some properties are again only being used for several weeks a year.

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“The message I hear from the public is that the number of holiday homes occupied for only a short time each year is increasing and is having a detrimental effect on young people being able to live and stay in rural communities.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “The stench of secrecy surrounding Michael Matheson only continues to grow. The discredited SNP health secretary who has lied to the public now appears to not even be following his own government’s regulations on holiday lets.

“Humza Yousaf should grow a backbone and sack Michael Matheson who now has serious questions to answer over another matter.”

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The Sunday Mail contacted Michael Matheson to ask why he had been failing to comply with the government rules and his own party’s position on short-term lets.

A spokeswoman for the health secretary said: “The cottage now complies fully with Scottish Government regulations. It is now one of many other rental homes currenting going through the short-term lets licensing scheme.

“As clearly outlined in Mr Matheson’s Register of Interests, the property does not make a profit due to running costs.”

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