Short-term let rules in Edinburgh
Edinburgh has the strictest short-let rules in the UK: a licence, planning permission across the whole city, and a visitor levy. Here is what hosts need to know.
Checked against official sources on 26 Sept 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
What's specific to Edinburgh
The whole city is a control area
The City of Edinburgh is a short-term let control area, so using a home that is not your own as a short-term let needs planning permission for change of use, as well as a licence.
Visitor levy: 5% from 24 July 2026
Edinburgh charges 5% of the accommodation cost for the first 5 nights of every stay. Bookings paid for before 1 October 2025 are exempt. Providers keep 2% of what they collect to cover costs.
Licence conditions
Your licence requires gas, EICR and PAT certificates, interlinked alarms, a legionella and fire risk assessment, an EPC shown in adverts, insurance, and a maximum occupancy. HostSorted adds all of them when you set a property to Scotland.
What applies across Scotland
A short-term let licence is compulsory
Every short-term let in Scotland needs a licence from the council before taking bookings. The licence conditions cover gas, electrical and PAT testing, interlinked alarms, legionella, an EPC, a fire risk assessment, fire-safe furniture, buildings and public liability insurance, and a maximum occupancy. Your licence number must be in every listing.
Non-domestic rates: the 140/70 rule
A self-catering property is on the non-domestic rates roll only if it was available for 140 nights and actually let for 70 nights in the financial year. Otherwise it pays council tax, and since April 2026 councils can charge more than double on second homes.
Read the guidemygov.scot: non-domestic rates for short-term lets
Visitor levies are arriving
Edinburgh charges 5% on the first 5 nights from 24 July 2026. Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire follow in 2027, and more councils are consulting.
Keep your Edinburgh holiday let compliant, automatically
HostSorted builds the exact checklist for your property, reads your certificates, counts your booked nights and emails you before anything is due. Free for one property.
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