By 1 October 2022, all local authorities were required to introduce a licensing scheme for properties operating as short term lets. The scheme was introduced following the rapid rise of Airbnb-type lets, which negatively affected local communities, with a reported increase in noise, antisocial behaviour and supply of housing. Whilst the scheme was initially intended to target particularly popular areas for short-term lets, such as Edinburgh and St. Andrews, the scheme applies across Scotland.
In areas where are higher rates of short-term lets, local authorities will be able to utilise additional powers which run in tandem with the licence scheme to address particular stress points; taking Edinburgh as an example, where a third of short-term lets are, Edinburgh City Council has introduced Scotland’s first “control area”. The control applies to the whole of Edinburgh and invokes powers under planning legislation to require planning permission for any property where there is a change of use from a dwelling to a secondary letting within the City of Edinburgh Council area in accordance with the Council’s planning policy. Where the controls apply, planning consent will be required before any licensing application can be made.
Types of short-term let licences
The term short-term let refers a wide range of residential and commercial accommodation. Broadly, the legislation includes all uses of residential guest accommodation provided by a host in the course of a business where the all of the following criteria is met:
- The accommodation is not the guest’s only or principal home.
- A commercial consideration is exchanged between the host and guest.
- The guest is not an immediate family member of the host.
- The host is not sharing the accommodation for the purpose of advancing the guest’s education as part of an arrangements made or approved by a school, college or further or higher education institution.
- The guest is not an owner or part-owner of the accommodation.
- The accommodation is not provided for the principal purpose of facilitating the provision of work or services.
- The accommodation is not an excluded accommodation.
- The let does not constitute an excluded tenancy.
If the arrangement is a short-term let caught by the licensing scheme, before applying for a licence, you will also require to decide whether you are applying for a licence for home sharing, home letting, licence for both home sharing and letting or a licence for secondary letting.