By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Every short-term let in Scotland has needed a council licence since 2023 — whole properties and rooms alike, with no small-operator exemption — and operating without one is a criminal offence. In control areas such as Edinburgh, changing a whole property to short letting also needs planning permission. Applications often take months and you cannot let while waiting, so check before buying.
Every short-term let needs a licence
Since 2023, every short-term let in Scotland requires a licence from the local council. There is no threshold and no exemption for small operators — it applies to whole properties, to rooms within your own home, and to urban and rural lets alike.
Operating without a licence is a criminal offence. The platforms increasingly require a licence number at listing stage, so the practical effect is that an unlicensed property cannot reach the market anyway.
This is the single most common reason a Scottish plan fails, and it is entirely checkable before any money is committed.
What the licence requires
Councils apply mandatory conditions covering safety, insurance and how the property is managed. The detail varies but the core is consistent.
- Gas and electrical safety certification, current at all times
- A fire risk assessment, with detection appropriate to the property
- Public liability insurance for the letting use
- An EPC where one is required for the property
- Legionella risk assessment, which matters because short lets stand empty between bookings
- A named person responsible, contactable and able to attend
- Maximum occupancy, set and adhered to
Control areas add planning on top
Some councils have designated short-term let control areas. Inside one, changing a whole property to short-term letting requires planning permission for a change of use, in addition to the licence.
Edinburgh is the best-known example and the most restrictive in practice. A licence and planning permission are two separate applications with two separate outcomes, and holding one says nothing about the other.
If a property sits inside a control area, treat the planning position as the primary risk. It is where most refusals happen.
Timing, and why it decides the deal
Applications take time — often months — and cost money, with fees varying by council and by property size. You cannot let while you wait.
That has a direct commercial consequence: a property bought in spring on the assumption of a summer season can easily miss it entirely. The licence timeline has to be in the model, not treated as paperwork to sort out after completion.
It also affects purchase decisions. An existing licence attached to a property being sold is worth something real, and worth confirming rather than assuming it transfers.
How we handle Scottish properties
We confirm the licence and control-area position with the council for the specific address before anything is listed, and we will tell an owner when a property does not work rather than list it and hope.
Every one of our Scottish location pages carries the licensing position for that nation, because it is the most useful thing a landlord page can say and the part most agencies skip.
The rest of the arrangement — the rate card, the deductions, the notice periods — is the same across the UK. It is the regulation that differs, and it differs enough to decide whether a property is viable at all.
A plain summary of a licensing regime, not legal advice. Requirements and fees vary by council and change. Confirm the position for your address with the local authority before committing to a property.