Short-term lets in Scotland need a licence from the local council before they can take bookings, and Edinburgh adds more layers than most places. The whole city is a short-term let control area for planning purposes, and since 24 July 2026 Edinburgh hosts have also had to account for a visitor levy. This guide explains each layer, what it costs and what happens if you get it wrong.
Getting this right protects your income as well as keeping you legal. A missing licence or planning consent can stop you trading altogether, so it is worth settling before you take your first booking.
What is Edinburgh's Short-Term Let Licence Requirement?
The licensing scheme was created by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022, which applies across Scotland. In Edinburgh, the City of Edinburgh Council is the licensing authority. You can advertise before your licence is granted, but you cannot take bookings or receive guests until it is issued.
In broad terms, a short-term let is accommodation a host provides in the course of business, for money, to a guest who does not live there as their only or principal home. There is no minimum or maximum number of nights in that definition, so a single weekend booking counts. The scheme covers whole properties, rooms in your own home and shared accommodation, whether you host occasionally or run several properties.
The Scottish Government guidance sets out four licence types:
- Secondary letting: letting a property where you do not normally live, such as a second home or an investment flat.
- Home sharing: letting part of your own home while you are living there.
- Home letting: letting your own home while you are away.
- Home sharing and home letting: doing both at different times.
Who Needs a Licence in Edinburgh?
If your letting meets the definition above, you need a licence. That includes:
- Airbnb hosts renting out entire properties
- Hosts renting a spare room in the home they live in
- Holiday let operators with one property or many
- Bed and breakfasts and guest houses, unless they fall into an excluded category
Some accommodation is excluded from the scheme, including hotels with planning permission for hotel use, aparthotels, premises with an alcohol premises licence where accommodation is part of the operating plan, hostels, student accommodation and bothies. Stays by immediate family members, and lets under a private residential tenancy, are also outside it.
What are the Airbnb regulations in Edinburgh?
Edinburgh's rules for Airbnb hosts sit across four layers, and you need to satisfy every one that applies to you:
- Licensing: every short-term let needs a licence from the council before it takes bookings, whether it is a whole property, a spare room or shared accommodation.
- Planning permission: the whole council area is a short-term let control area, so using a whole property that is not your main home as a short-term let generally needs planning permission.
- Safety and operating conditions: every licence carries mandatory conditions on fire, gas, electrical and water safety, insurance, occupancy and listings, and the council can add conditions of its own.
- Visitor levy: since 24 July 2026, accommodation providers in Edinburgh are liable for a 5% levy on up to five consecutive nights of stays booked on or after 1 October 2025.
Operating without a licence is a criminal offence with a fine of up to £2,500, and a planning breach can lead to enforcement action that stops the use altogether. The sections below take each layer in turn.
How Do I Apply for an Edinburgh Short-Term Let Licence?
Applications are made online. The council does not accept paper forms, cash or cheques, and it does not process incomplete applications, so gather everything before you start.
The council checks that the premises are safe, that you are a fit and proper person to hold a licence, and that you can meet the licence conditions. For a full application you also display a site notice on or near the property, so neighbours know about it. Objections can be made within 28 days of that notice.
Required Documentation
Edinburgh's guidance notes ask you to submit, with your application:
- A fully completed application form and the application fee
- Floor plans showing room sizes, fire escape routes and any accommodation suitable for guests with mobility impairments (a clear hand drawn plan is acceptable)
- An annual gas safety certificate, if there is a gas supply
- A current Electrical Installation Condition Report and a current Portable Appliance Testing certificate
- A completed short-term let fire safety checklist and a completed document self declaration checklist
- Planning permission information, for secondary letting
- Declarations by the other owners of the property, if you are not the sole owner
Keep the rest of your evidence ready too, because the council can ask to see it. That includes your legionella risk assessment, Energy Performance Certificate and insurance documents.
Application Fees and Timescales
Edinburgh's fees depend on the licence type and the maximum number of guests. The council's fee table for 2025 to 2026 lists:
- Home sharing, new one year licence: £120
- Home letting, new one year licence: £120 per occupant
- Secondary letting, one year licence: from £653 for one to three guests, rising to £5,869 for 21 or more
- Secondary letting, three year renewal: from £1,053 for one to three guests
Fees are non-refundable and are reviewed regularly, so check the current fee table before you apply. Decisions can take months, especially if there are objections or the planning position is unclear, so apply well before you want to take bookings.
What Are Edinburgh's Planning Permission Requirements?
Since 5 September 2022, the whole City of Edinburgh Council area has been a short-term let control area. Inside a control area, using a whole dwelling that is not your only or principal home as a short-term let counts as a material change of use, which needs planning permission.
In practice, most secondary letting in Edinburgh needs planning permission. The control area does not apply to home sharing or home letting: renting a room in the home you live in, or letting your whole home while you are away, as long as it remains your only or principal home. If a property was already being used as a short-term let before the control area began, the ordinary planning test applies instead, which asks whether there has been a material change of use.
A planning application for a change of use in Scotland costs £742 from 1 April 2026, under the national fee schedule. If you believe your current use is already lawful, for example because it has continued long enough to be immune from enforcement, you can apply for a certificate of lawful use instead. Refusals can be reviewed or appealed, but this adds time and cost.
How Licensing and Planning Fit Together
Your licence application needs planning permission or a certificate of lawful use where one is required, and the council can refuse to consider a licence application if the use would breach planning control. If your property needs planning permission, sort that out first.
Edinburgh's licensing policy has also changed over time. The Court of Session found parts of the council's original policy unlawful, including a presumption against secondary letting in tenement and shared main door flats, and councillors have since agreed changes. Read the current policy before you apply.
Edinburgh Short-Term Let Licence Conditions and Compliance
Every licence in Scotland carries a set of mandatory conditions, and the council can attach additional conditions of its own. Breaching a condition is an offence and can lead to your licence being suspended or revoked.
Safety and Maintenance Requirements
The mandatory conditions, as summarised in the Scottish Government guidance for hosts, include:
- Suitable equipment to detect and warn of fire and carbon monoxide
- Furniture and furnishings that meet fire safety rules, with records to show it
- A gas safety certificate dated within the last 12 months, where there is a gas supply
- An Electrical Installation Condition Report for fixed installations, and Portable Appliance Testing of moveable appliances guests can use, with inspections by a competent person at least every five years
- A legionella risk assessment, and compliance with private water supply rules if relevant
- A maximum number of guests you can accommodate safely
- Valid buildings insurance, and valid public liability insurance while the property is let
- A valid Energy Performance Certificate where one is required
Keeping several certificates in date is where hosts slip up, particularly with more than one property or when living away. Zugrow's hosting platform (a PMS and channel manager for Airbnb and Booking.com with AI agents for guest messaging, guest vetting and pricing; new hosts join a waitlist and are onboarded in waves) can take day-to-day guest admin off your plate, while your compliance documents stay in your own hands.
Listings and Guest Information
Your licence number must appear on your adverts and listings, including on Airbnb, along with your EPC rating where the property needs an EPC. Guests should also have clear information about the property, including what to do if the carbon monoxide alarm sounds.
Clear house rules on noise, rubbish and parking help prevent the neighbour complaints that can put a licence at risk. Check the council's licensing policy for any additional conditions it applies in Edinburgh.
What Happens If You Operate Without a Licence?
Operating a short-term let without a licence is a criminal offence under section 7 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, with a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Breaching a licence condition carries a fine of up to £1,000, and the council can also suspend or revoke a licence. Giving false or misleading information in an application is a separate offence.
Planning is enforced separately. If you need planning permission and do not have it, the council can take enforcement action requiring the short-term let use to stop, whatever your licence position.
There are knock-on risks too. An insurer may refuse a claim arising from an activity you were not legally allowed to carry on, and if you have to stop taking bookings, the momentum your listing has built on Airbnb goes with it.
Rules differ across the UK, from London's 90-day hosting restrictions to cities like Manchester, which has no short-term let licensing scheme. If you host in more than one place, check each one separately.
How Much Does an Edinburgh Short-Term Let Licence Cost?
The licence fee is only part of the cost. Depending on your property, you may also need planning permission and a set of safety checks before you apply.
Breakdown of Licensing Expenses
Typical costs include:
- Licence fee: £120 for home sharing, £120 per occupant for home letting, or from £653 for secondary letting (2025 to 2026 fees)
- Planning application for a change of use, if needed: £742 (from 1 April 2026)
- Gas safety check every 12 months, if there is a gas supply
- Electrical Installation Condition Report and Portable Appliance Testing
- Legionella risk assessment
- Energy Performance Certificate, valid for 10 years
- Buildings and public liability insurance
- Fire and carbon monoxide detection, and compliant furnishings
Prices for certificates and assessments vary with property size and contractor, so get quotes from qualified local tradespeople. Professional help with a complex planning or licensing case adds further cost, but can be worthwhile for higher value properties.
The Edinburgh Visitor Levy
Edinburgh introduced Scotland's first visitor levy on 24 July 2026. It applies to overnight accommodation across the city, including short-term lets, and it is separate from your licence.
- Rate: 5% of the accommodation cost, payable for a maximum of five consecutive nights.
- Which stays: stays from 24 July 2026 that were booked on or after 1 October 2025.
- Who accounts for it: the accommodation provider is liable, and submits quarterly returns, paying at the same time, through a national online visitor levy portal.
- Exemptions: some guests, such as people receiving certain disability benefits, are exempt. They pay you and then claim the levy back from the council.
If you host in Edinburgh, make sure your prices account for the levy and that your booking records match your returns. The council's visitor levy scheme has the full detail.
Maximising Your Licensed Property's Performance
Once you are licensed, the focus moves to earning well from the property. Edinburgh demand swings with the August festivals, Hogmanay, the university calendar and business travel, so your pricing and minimum stays need to follow the calendar rather than sit at one level all year.
From our own portfolio: Our own short lets are in Manchester, not Edinburgh: about 24 of them, run with a small team. It is one setup among many, but two things travel well. Our minimum stay changes with the season, and what earns us the most 5-star reviews is replying quickly and giving clear check-in information on the day.
Your licence number already has to appear on your listing, so make the rest of the listing work as hard: clear photos, an accurate description and a well-judged price. Get your free Airbnb performance score to see how your Edinburgh listing scores across title, description, photos, amenities, trust and competitive positioning, and where it loses points.
If you are comparing cities, our guide to starting an Airbnb in Manchester shows how different the rules are in England.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an Edinburgh short-term let licence last?
The law allows a licence to last up to three years, and the council decides the period for each licence. Edinburgh's guidance notes say secondary letting licences are normally granted for one year, and its fee table also lists three year renewals. You can apply to renew up to six months before your licence expires, and you must apply before it expires, because an expired licence cannot be renewed.
Can I appeal a refused licence application?
Yes. You can appeal to the sheriff within 28 days of the decision. An appeal should address the specific grounds for refusal, and legal advice is sensible for anything complex.
Do I need separate licences for multiple Edinburgh properties?
Generally, yes: each property needs its own licence. The Scottish Government guidance says accommodation on a single premises may only need one licence, but flats in a shared stairwell may each need their own, so check with the council before you apply. Fees are charged per application.
What insurance do I need for a licensed short-term let?
The mandatory conditions require valid buildings insurance for the premises and valid public liability insurance while the property is let. The national guidance does not set a minimum level of cover, so agree a sensible limit with your insurer. Many hosts also take contents cover and loss of income cover. Our guide to Airbnb host insurance in the UK covers the options.
Can tenants apply for short-term let licences?
Tenants can apply, but you need your landlord's permission to sublet, and most residential tenancy agreements restrict it. Get written consent before you apply.
How does Edinburgh enforce short-term let licensing?
The council responds to complaints and can carry out inspections. Because every listing must display a licence number, unlicensed listings are easier to spot. Penalties range from fines to suspension or revocation of a licence, alongside separate planning enforcement.
Edinburgh's rules take time and money to work through, but a properly licensed and permitted property can trade with confidence. Ready to see how your listing compares? Get your free score at Zugrow and find out where your Edinburgh property is losing points.
Sources (checked October 2026): Licensing of Short-term Lets Order 2022; Scottish Government guidance for hosts and operators; City of Edinburgh Council licence fees; Edinburgh short-term let control area; Planning Circular 1/2026; Edinburgh Visitor Levy scheme; Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, section 7.