Scotland short-term let licensing: what the law actually requires

Status: IN FORCE Last checked: 28 July 2026 Primary source: gov.scot — Short-term lets: regulation information (page last updated 15 May 2026)

Scotland is the only part of the UK with a fully operational short-term let licensing scheme. It has run since October 2022, and operating without a licence is a criminal offence.

Who needs a licence

gov.scot states: "The law around short-term lets changed on 1 October 2022." The scheme "is mandatory for all short-term let accommodation across Scotland, including holiday cottages, B&Bs, guest houses, rooms within a home and unconventional accommodation such as pods and yurts."

It applies "regardless of how long you let the accommodation for. It could be one night or several months."

On timing, gov.scot is explicit: "New hosts are required to obtain a short-term let licence before accepting bookings or receiving guests."

Transitional cover has expired. gov.scot states that if you "applied to the scheme before 1 October 2023 and were trading before October 2022 you can continue operating while the council considers your application." A new host has no such route.

Exclusions. mygov.scot states: "You do not need a licence if the person staying there has a tenancy." Nor where the guest "is a member of your immediate family" or "is an owner or part-owner of the accommodation". Excluded accommodation types include hotels with planning permission, hostels, care and educational accommodation, caravans on licensed holiday sites, aparthotels (minimum five serviced apartments) and bothies.

The four licence types

You apply for one type, defined by whether the property is your own home and whether you are there. mygov.scot's definitions:

Most holiday cottages and city flats fall under secondary letting, which also triggers the planning question in a control area. mygov.scot states: "A licence usually lasts for 3 years."

The penalty

mygov.scot states: "It's a criminal offence to operate a short-term let without a licence." The listed consequences are:

• "you can be fined up to £2,500"
• "you can be banned from applying for a licence for one year"
• "you cannot offer lets while you are banned"

The ban, not the fine, is the part operators underestimate.

Mandatory licence conditions

gov.scot notes "Each local council has published a short-term let policy that sets out the mandatory conditions" and any additional local conditions — check your own council's policy too.

mygov.scot lists the required certificates and reports:

• "a Gas Safety Certificate dated within the last 12 months"
• "an Electrical Installation Condition Report on any fixed installations"
• "a Portable Appliance Testing Report on moveable appliances that guests have access to, with inspected items labelled"
• "a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) dated within the last 10 years" — for entire houses or flats

Both insurances are mandatory, and they run on different clocks:

• "buildings insurance, valid for the duration of your licence"
• "public liability insurance, valid for the duration of each short-term let agreement"

Standards the property must meet: "the repairing and tolerable standards", "fire and safety standards", "energy performance standards" and "Legionella risk standards". Guest numbers must not exceed what the council and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have authorised, and specified safety information must be displayed where guests can access it.

Note the EPC condition requires you to hold a current certificate, not to achieve any particular band. No minimum EPC rating attaches to a Scottish short-term let licence.

Control areas

A control area is a planning designation, separate from the licence. mygov.scot names the two currently designated: "the entire City of Edinburgh Council area" and "Badenoch and Strathspey, in the Highland Council area". gov.scot dates them to 5 September 2022 and 4 March 2024 respectively — Edinburgh "became Scotland's first designated short-term let control area".

Inside one, mygov.scot warns: "If you're applying for a new short-term let licence in an existing control area, it's very likely you'll need planning permission." Operate without permission you need, and "the planning authority could take enforcement action against you."

gov.scot connects the two systems: "In a control area, mandatory condition 13, which relates to planning, may be relevant to your licensing application if a change of use to a short-term let requires planning permission under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997." The planning application must be made, or permission already held, before you apply for the licence.

Additions in progress — not yet law. The Highland Council consulted from 12 May to 23 June 2026 on two further control areas, an Inverness City STLCA and a Highland Rural STLCA. It states that within a control area "planning permission will always be required for a future change of use of a residential home to a secondary short-term let", that it does "not introduce a ban on short-term lets", and that "No decisions have been made yet."

Secondary source, unconfirmed: trade and press reports state Perth & Kinross councillors agreed on 17 June 2026 to designate a control area covering Highland Perthshire and the northern Eastern housing market area, now with Scottish Ministers. We could not reach the Council's own pages to confirm it, and no such designation appears on gov.scot or mygov.scot as at 28 July 2026. Treat it as proposed, not designated.

Edinburgh visitor levy — live from 24 July 2026

Separate from licensing, and now in force. The City of Edinburgh Council states the levy is a "5% payment on the cost of the paid, overnight accommodation", starting Friday 24 July 2026, and "Only charged on the first 5 nights' stay".

For anyone with a forward book, the booking date matters as much as the stay date:

• The scheme "has applied to all advance bookings made since 1 October 2025 for stays taking place on or after 24 July 2026".
• "Stays on or after 24 July 2026 which were booked and paid for (in part or full) before 1 October 2025 will not be subject to the levy."

On calculation: "Charged before VAT and will not be charged on extras like parking, meals, drinks or transport."

Short-term lets are in scope: the Council lists hotels, self-catering apartments, aparthotels, B&Bs, guest houses, hostels, vessels and vehicles, and "holiday/short-term lets including residential properties". Providers must "submit quarterly reports, detailing the total accommodation charges and the total levy collected" to a national online portal, remitting payment at the same time, and must keep transaction records. Certain individuals are exempt via reimbursement; charities may apply for discretionary exemption.

Software that helps

Categories, not recommendations:

• Compliance and licensing tools — licence number, expiry and three-year renewal date, per property.
• Certificate-expiry trackers — gas (12 months), EICR, PAT and EPC (10 years) run on different clocks, and a lapsed certificate is a lapsed licence condition.
• Property management systems with per-property custom fields, so the licence number reaches your listings.
• Holiday let insurance — public liability cover is mandatory for each letting agreement.
• Accounting and tax tools — for visitor levy collected and remitted quarterly. It is not your revenue.

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This is a general guide based on published government sources, last checked 28 July 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. Licence conditions and fees vary by council — check your own council's short-term let policy before applying.