Airbnb and short-term let licensing in Scotland
A short-term let licence is mandatory across Scotland - operating without one is an offence. The licence types, the mandatory safety conditions (gas, EICR, EPC, fire, legionella, insurance), and control areas.
Scotland has the strictest short-term let rules in the UK, and the one nation where a licence is not optional. If you let a property short-term anywhere in Scotland, you must hold a short-term let licence from the local council — operating without one is a criminal offence. This guide sets out what the licence requires, including the safety conditions that come with it.
A licence is mandatory
Since 1 October 2022, every short-term let in Scotland must be licensed, and you cannot accept bookings or receive guests until your licence is granted. The requirement applies across the whole of Scotland and to every type of short-term let — whole properties, a room in your own home, and unconventional accommodation such as pods and yurts. Letting without a licence is an offence that can carry a substantial fine, so this is the first thing to sort, before anything else.
The types of licence
Councils licence short-term lets in categories that reflect how you let: secondary letting (a property that is not your main home, the most common Airbnb case), home letting (letting your own home while you are away), home sharing (letting a room while you are there), and combinations of these. You apply to the council for the area the property is in, and each council sets its own fees and local conditions on top of the national mandatory conditions.
The mandatory safety conditions
This is where Scotland’s scheme is unusually concrete: the licence comes with mandatory safety conditions you must meet and evidence. They pull together most of the certificates covered elsewhere in this cluster:
- Fire and carbon monoxide detection — satisfactory equipment to detect and warn of fire and of hazardous carbon monoxide, fitted and maintained.
- Gas safety — an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer where there are gas appliances. See our gas safety guide.
- Electrical safety — an EICR at least every five years, plus portable appliance testing of moveable appliances, with items date-labelled after inspection. See our EICR guide.
- Legionella — a legionella risk assessment (which you can carry out yourself for a simple property).
- Energy performance — an EPC is required for secondary letting. See our EPC guide.
- Repairing and tolerable standard — the property must meet the statutory repairing and tolerable standards.
- Insurance — buildings insurance for the licence period and public liability cover in place for each booking.
In practice, holding a Scottish licence means keeping this whole safety pack current and being able to produce it — which is exactly what falls over when it is spread across emails and drawers.
Control areas and planning permission
Some councils have designated short-term let control areas — Edinburgh is the best-known — where using a property for secondary letting is a change of use that automatically requires planning permission. A licensing authority can refuse to consider a licence application where planning control has been breached, so in a control area you need to resolve planning as well as licensing. Check whether your property sits in a control area before you apply.
Fees, levies and renewal
Licence fees are set by each council and vary with the size and type of let, and licences run for a fixed period before renewal. Separately, Scottish councils are gaining the power to introduce a visitor levy (a percentage charge on overnight stays), which some, including Edinburgh, are bringing in — this is a charge you collect from guests rather than a licence condition, but it is part of the operating picture in Scotland.
How Complys helps
A Scottish licence is, in large part, a bundle of safety certificates that must stay current. Complys keeps the gas, electrical, EPC, fire and insurance records for each property in one place and tracks every expiry, so your licence conditions stay evidenced rather than lapsing between renewals. See Airbnb & short-term let compliance software, and the UK-wide picture in our Airbnb licensing guide. Comparing nations? See England and Wales.
Official guidance and sources
A Scottish short-term let licence is a bundle of safety certificates that must stay current. Complys keeps the gas, electrical, EPC, fire and insurance records for each property and tracks every expiry.