Renewing a short-term let licence in City of Edinburgh
Everything Thistle Compliance knows about renewing a short-term let licence with City of Edinburgh Council — the fees, the documents, where to send it, and how to find your own expiry date.
- Licence period
- Three years on renewal for most licence types. Secondary letting is also offered as a one-year licence at a lower fee, so check which you are applying for.
- Cost to renew
- Same fee as a new application
- We take work here
- Yes
- Fees checked
- 2026-09-29
Fees
Edinburgh is by far the most expensive council in Scotland, and secondary letting is charged by occupancy on a steep scale. A three-year renewal for a secondary let starts at £1,053 and reaches £6,869.
Secondary letting
| Maximum occupancy | Secondary letting, 1-year | Secondary letting, 3-year renewal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | £653 | £1,053 |
| 4 to 5 | £1,089 | £1,489 |
| 6 to 10 | £2,481 | £2,881 |
| 11 to 15 | £3,872 | £4,272 |
| 16 to 20 | £5,264 | £5,664 |
| 21 and over | £5,869 | £6,869 |
Home sharing and home letting
| Maximum occupancy | Secondary letting, 1-year | Secondary letting, 3-year renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Home sharing, new (1 year) | £120 | — |
| Home sharing, renewal (3 years) | £120 | — |
| Home letting, new (1 year) | £120 per occupant | — |
| Home letting, renewal (3 years) | £360 per occupant | — |
Other application types
| Transfer of licence | £120 |
|---|---|
| Change of manager | £137 |
| Variation of licence | £74 |
| Temporary licence | £250 to £600 by occupancy |
| Temporary exemption | £250 to £600 by occupancy |
Fees read from City of Edinburgh Council's own published schedule on 2026-09-29 — source. Council fees are paid by you directly to the council. We never add to them and they never pass through our books.
What it comes to
- Our fee
- £319
- City of Edinburgh's fee
- £1,053, paid direct to the council
- Gas safety certificate
- £29, paid direct to the engineer
- Total
- £1,401
What is specific to City of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh's fees dwarf the rest of Scotland. A three-year secondary letting renewal sleeping six costs £2,881 — against £530 for the same property in Perth & Kinross and £433 in Glasgow.
- Secondary letting is charged purely on maximum occupancy, so declaring one more guest than you need is expensive. Getting the occupancy right is worth more here than anywhere else in Scotland.
- Edinburgh operates a short-term let control area. Using a whole property that is not your main home as a short-term let needs planning permission as well as a licence, and the planning fee is separate. A licence does not remove the planning requirement.
- Fees are non-refundable if the application is refused or withdrawn.
What a renewal requires
A renewal is not a lighter version of a first application. It takes the identical document pack:
- EICR electrical reportevery 5 years
- Gas safety certificateevery 12 months
- PAT testing certificateevery 12 months
- Fire risk assessmentperiodic Plus the fire safety checklist, held on site
- Scottish Fire & Rescue safety checklistevery renewal
- Legionella risk assessmentperiodic You can do this one yourself
- Insurance evidence, minimum £2m liabilityevery renewal
- Floor plan and location planevery renewal
- Owner declarationsevery renewal
- Signed Certificate of Complianceevery renewal
- Mandatory-conditions checklistevery renewal
How to find your own expiry date
City of Edinburgh Council publishes a public register of licensed short-term lets, as every Scottish council must. Your licence details are in it.
Open the City of Edinburgh public register
Search for your property address or your own name. If the register does not show an expiry date — most do not — work from your grant date and add the licence period above. If you applied in the 2023 window, your licence expires this autumn.
You do not need us for this part. The register is public and the date is free to find. What we sell is the work between knowing the date and filing the pack.
What we would do for you in City of Edinburgh
You tell us the property. We work out which certificates are in date and which are missing, book accredited local engineers for the gaps, assemble the full pack, and file it with City of Edinburgh Council before your deadline.
£319 for a single property, £379 for a secondary let. Council fees and engineers are paid by you directly, at cost. Filed before your deadline, or your money back.
Get your renewal handled See full pricing
What other councils charge
Fees are set locally and the spread across Scotland is wide, so a figure from a neighbouring authority is not a guide to this one. Dumfries & Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife — or the full list of council guides.
If you are not sure when your licence runs out, the dates and what happens if you miss them is the place to start.