Short term lets licensing

Before you apply - documents you need

Required documentation

The following documentation must be submitted as part of your application:

1. Floor plans

For an assessment of the maximum number of guests that can be accommodated safely, applicants must submit floor plans for their property.

Every effort should be made to submit professional plans, however, if you are unable to do this, hand drawn plans will be acceptable providing that they are reasonably to scale or adequately dimensioned. Ideally these plans should include a floor plan of each floor to a scale of 1:50 and if showing elevations to a scale of 1:100.

The floor plans should include reference to:

  • Room sizes
  • Fire escape routes
  • Accommodation intended for guests with mobility impairment
  • Smoke and heat detector locations
  • Carbon Monoxide detectors (if an open flued appliance is fitted)
  • Outline footprint of short term let property in red
  • The maximum occupancy capacity of each short term let property

2. Site plan

A site plan must include boundaries, ideally to a scale of 1:500.

3. Fire Safety Checklist provided by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

The Fire Safety Checklist has been incorporated into the application form. Ensure you have an appropriate fire risk safety assessment in place for your property. For further information:

4. Electrical Installation Conditions (EICR) report

This does not apply to properties with no electrical fittings or items within the parts of the property which are not for guest use, or to which guests are not permitted to have access. The report must be dated within the last 5 years. Please ensure that you upload all pages of the document. Further information can be found in the Guidance on Electrical Installations and Appliances document.

5. Gas Safety inspection certificate

This does not apply to properties that have no gas installation. The inspection must have been carried out by a Gas Safe registered person. If your property has a gas supply, you must carry out annual gas safety inspections and hold a current gas safety certificate. Further information can be found on the Gas Safe Register website.

6. Buildings insurance

We require evidence that the short term let property has buildings insurance in the name of the host/operator in place.

7. Planning Permission

If your property is not in Ward 20, Badenoch and Strathspey, you do not currently need to provide evidence of planning permission with your application for a short term let licence.

For each application for a short term let licence which has applied for secondary letting of a dwellinghouse in Ward 20, Badenoch and Strathspey, we will require the applicant to provide us with the following evidence along with their application:

  1. evidence that an application for planning permission for the use of the property as a short term let has been made and has not yet been determined; or
  2. evidence that planning permission has been granted for the operation of the property as a short term let; or
  3. evidence that the property does not require planning permission for use as a short term let – this will be by way of either:
    • a Certificate of Lawful Use, which confirms that the premises do not require planning permission; or
    • a Certificate of Lawful Development, where the property has operated as an short term let for over 10 years and cannot, therefore, be subject to any enforcement action for a lack of planning permission for this use.

Further guidance on the planning aspects of the Short Term Let Control Area for Ward 20 can be found on our page at Control Area - Badenoch and Strathspey (Ward 20) | Short Term Let Control Areas | The Highland Council.

Other considerations

You must check that any lender consents to the use of a property as a Short Term Let.

You may be subject to waste management requirements depending on the size and scale of your operation. Further information can be found on our Business Waste Collection Service page.

You should check to see if you need to register as a landlord or obtain a HMO licence. Further information about HMO’s in the Highlands can found on our Apply for a licence - Houses in multiple occupation page. Registration is required for all properties let to one or more individuals as their main or only address and mandatory licensing applies to houses or flats occupied by three or more unrelated people who share bathroom or kitchen facilities as their permanent address.

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