Do I need to register a short-term rental in Edinburgh?

Yes. A registration or licence must be in place in Edinburgh before the property is let.

How many nights a year can I let a short-term rental in Edinburgh?

No annual night limit is recorded at this level in Edinburgh.

Do I have to keep a guest register in Edinburgh?

Yes. Edinburgh requires a register of guests to be kept for every stay.

Is there an accommodation tax on short-term rentals in Edinburgh?

Yes. Edinburgh Visitor Levy at 5% of the booking.

Are local council rules for Edinburgh included here?

Yes. The rules shown for Edinburgh are the ones that bind an operator at this level, last checked 2026-08-30.

Short-term rental rules in Edinburgh

Last checked 2026-08-30. Jurisdiction code GB-SCT-EDH.

Registration or licence	Required before letting
Night limit	No limit recorded at this level
Guest register	Must be kept for every stay
Accommodation tax	Edinburgh Visitor Levy, 5%

What this means in practice

A short-term let licence from the local authority is MANDATORY in Scotland. Licensing began in October 2022 and every operating property has needed a licence since 1 January 2025.
Operating without a licence is a CRIMINAL offence, with fines up to GBP 2,500. This is not a civil penalty and it is the most serious consequence in any market Cuvanti covers.
Licence conditions cover safety, insurance and maximum occupancy, and are set by the local authority. Some areas also operate short-term let control zones where planning permission is separately required.
The WHOLE of the City of Edinburgh Council area has been a short-term let control area since 5 September 2022. Since that date, using a dwellinghouse that is not somebody's principal home as a short-term let is a material change of use and requires PLANNING PERMISSION. This is separate from, and additional to, the Scottish licence.
Planning permission is not normally required for home sharing or home letting, meaning letting part or all of your own principal home. It is the second property, let whole, that the control area catches.
The Edinburgh Visitor Levy applies to stays from 24 July 2026 at 5% of the accommodation charge, calculated before VAT and not charged on extras such as parking, meals or transport. It is charged on the first five consecutive nights of a stay only.
Stays on or after 24 July 2026 that were booked and paid for, in part or in full, before 1 October 2025 are not subject to the levy.
The levy reaches short-term lets and self-catering apartments expressly, including properties licensed for home sharing, home letting and secondary letting, and it applies to businesses below the VAT threshold.
You are the liable person. You collect the levy from the guest and remit it to the Council through the national visitorlevy.scot platform, keeping accurate records of every transaction it applies to. Edinburgh reimburses 2% of the funds you remit toward your collection costs.

Cuvanti tracks this for your properties automatically

Night limits count across every channel you are connected to, not one platform at a time, which is the only way the number means anything. Cuvanti warns you before a booking would breach a limit, and tells you when a rule in your market changes.

See how it works

Common questions about short-term rentals in Edinburgh

Do I need to register a short-term rental in Edinburgh?: Yes. A registration or licence must be in place in Edinburgh before the property is let.
How many nights a year can I let a short-term rental in Edinburgh?: No annual night limit is recorded at this level in Edinburgh.
Do I have to keep a guest register in Edinburgh?: Yes. Edinburgh requires a register of guests to be kept for every stay.
Is there an accommodation tax on short-term rentals in Edinburgh?: Yes. Edinburgh Visitor Levy at 5% of the booking.
Are local council rules for Edinburgh included here?: Yes. The rules shown for Edinburgh are the ones that bind an operator at this level, last checked 2026-08-30.

This is not legal advice. It covers registration, night limits and accommodation taxes for the markets Cuvanti has configured, and does not cover every local rule, including planning controls, building and fire safety requirements, and strata or body corporate by-laws. Check your own obligations with a local adviser before you let.