Short term lets

The Scottish Government has introduced Short Term Lets Licensing under legislation approved by the Scottish Parliament in January 2021.

Update

From 1 March 2024 all private rented properties and short term lets in Scotland will be required to have fixed central heating, a kitchen with adequate space and facilities to prepare and store food. This brings together both existing and new duties included in the Repairing Standard. New duties cover kitchens, fixed heating systems, common parts, and fuel supplies.

The existing duty to ensure that the structure and exterior of the house is in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order has been amended to specify that where a private rented house or short term let is a flat in a tenement, the tenant must be able to safely access and use any common parts of the tenement, such as common closes. And Section 16 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 dealing with exceptions to landlords' repairing duties, is amended to make it clear that a private rented house which is a flat in a tenement does not fail the repairing standard if work otherwise needed to comply with the standard cannot be carried out because a majority of owners in the tenement have refused consent to carry out the work.

The existing duty to ensure fire safety in private rented houses and short term lets has been amended to specify that common doors must be secure and fitted with satisfactory locks. The existing duty to ensure that installations for the supply of electricity in a private rented house are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order will also specify that these must include a residual current device (a device to reduce the risk of electrocution and fire by breaking the circuit in the event of a fault). The existing duty to ensure that installations for the supply of gas and electricity in a private rented house and short term lets are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order will be extended to any other types of fuel.

The new Repairing Standard also requires water pipes in private rented and short term let properties to be free of lead and where this cannot be ascertained water testing must be carried out to check for the presence of lead piping. Fixed space heating systems must be capable of maintaining a temperature of 21⁰C in at least one room and 18⁰C elsewhere, when the outside temperature is minus 1⁰C. And where the property is in a tenement, common doors must be secure and fitted with satisfactory emergency exit locks and a secure entry system.

For further information:

Repairing Standard: statutory guidance for private landlords - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

All short term let properties in Scotland will require a licence. This is to ensure they are safe and the people providing them are suitable. The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 came into law on 1 March 2022.  

Licences

There will be four types of Short Term Lets Licences:

secondary letting - a short-term let involving the letting of property where you do not normally live
home letting - using all or part of your home for short term lets whilst you are absent
home sharing - using all or part of your own home for short term lets whilst you are there
home letting and home sharing - hosts principal home

What we are doing

The licensing scheme will require all licenced short-term lets to comply with mandatory conditions which will apply across Scotland. Dumfries and Galloway Council will check that the premises are compliant with all conditions.

Dumfries & Galloway Council established a Short Term Lets Licensing Scheme from 1 October 2022
On 01 March 2023 the Scottish Parliament approved the date that existing hosts and operators will have to apply for a licence changed from 1 April 2023 to 1 October 2023
All short-term let properties will require a license by 1 January 2025.

Fees

We are increasing our fees and charges by 6.7% from 1 April 2024 in line with Dumfries and Galloway Council's recently approved Budget for the financial year 2024/25.

What this means for you is that Short Term Lets Licence application fees will increase for a new 3-year licence application or licence renewals from this date. The new fees are listed below:

	Full 3 Year Licence
Maximum Number of Guests	Home sharing and home letting licence	Secondary letting licence	Renewal - Home sharing and home letting licence	Renewal - Secondary letting licence
Up to 6	£293.72	£323.10	£202.14	£222.36
7 to 12	£326.56	£359.31	£224.69	£247.16
13 +	£374.35	£411.70	£269.52	£296.48