Short Term Lets Licensing Statistics Scotland to 30 June 2023

Local authorities with the highest numbers of total licences in operation as at 30 June 2023 include Highland (1,296), Dumfries and Galloway (504) and Fife (466), which together account for over half (2,266 or 58%) of all licences in operation as at 30 June 2023. Local authorities with the lowest numbers include Clackmannanshire (0), Inverclyde (1), East Renfrewshire (3) and South Lanarkshire (4). There were lower numbers of licences in operation in City of Edinburgh (116) and Glasgow City (60) and other urban local authorities such as Aberdeen City (38) and Dundee City (21).

The number of total licences in operation by local authority area is set out in Table 4 and Map B below, which presents information on the rates of licences in operation per 10,000 dwellings.

Local authorities with the highest rates of licences or exemptions in operation include Na h-Eileanan Siar (134 licences per 10,000 dwellings), Highland (106), Orkney (73) and Dumfries and Galloway (66). There was a relatively low rate of total licences in operation in City of Edinburgh (4.4) and Glasgow City (1.9) and other urban local authorities such as Aberdeen City (3.1) and Dundee City (2.8).

Note that the rates per 10,000 dwellings figures are based on a comparison to the total number of residential dwellings as from National Records of Scotland estimates. This provides an indication of the scale of short term let licences to total residential dwellings in each area, although isn’t a fully like-for-like comparison given that not all short term let dwellings will necessarily be residential dwellings.

Table 4: Total licences in operation as at 30 June 2023 per 10,000 dwellings, by local authority, ordered by highest rates per 10,000 dwellings (dwellings figures based on the total number of residential dwellings from National Records of Scotland estimates for 2022)

Map B: Licences in operation per 10,000 dwellings as at 30 June 2023 (dwellings figures based on the total number of residential dwellings from National Records of Scotland estimates for 2022)

Table 5 in the supporting documents Excel workbook lists the number of licences in operation by individual data zone area, along with the corresponding rates per 1,000 dwellings. A total of 1,197 data zones have had at least one valid application received to 30 June 2023, which equates to 18% of the total 6,796 data zones in Scotland.

The data zones with the highest rates per 1,000 dwellings are summarised in Table 5 below.

Table 5: Licences in operation per 1,000 dwellings, by data zone area, highest ten rates (dwellings figures based on the total number of residential dwellings from National Records of Scotland estimates for 2022)

The supporting documents Excel Table 4 and Scotland Summary Table F along with Chart 3 below set out information on the number of licences or exemptions in operation by type.

As at 30 June 2023 there were a total of 3,903 licences or exemptions in operation, consisting of 2,429 (62%) full licences, 1,451 (37%) provisional licences, 6 (0.2%) temporary licences, and 17 (0.4%) temporary exemptions.

Of the 2,429 full licences in operation, 987 were received between October and December 2022, 975 were received between January and March 2023, and 467 were received between April and June 2023.

Of the 1,451 provisional licences in operation, 141 were received between October 2022, 338 were received between January to December 2023, and 972 were received between April and June 2023.

Six temporary licences have been granted, two in City of Edinburgh, two in Highland and one in Perth & Kinross and South Ayrshire. There have been 17 temporary exemptions granted, all in City of Edinburgh.

Excluding authorities with fewer than 10 total licences, authorities in which full licences make up a high proportion of all licences in operation include East Dunbartonshire, in which full licences account for 100% of 13 licences in operation, and Shetland in which full licences account for 55 (98%) of all 56 licences in operation. Local authorities with a high proportion of provisional licences in operation include Angus (20 total licences of which all are provisional) and Stirling (in which 90% of the 100 licences are provisional).

Chart 3: Licences in operation as at 30 June 2023, by type and quarter received

Scotland Summary Tables G and H in the supporting Excel document along with Chart 4 below present information on the number of licences by type of premise and type of let.

Of the 3,903 total licences or exemptions in operation as at 30 June 2023, the majority (3,241 or 83%) relate to secondary letting (i.e. where a non-primary residence is let out), with 406 (10%) being for home sharing, 159 (4%) for home letting, and 97 (2%) for a mixture of home sharing and letting.

A total of 1,717 (44%) licences are in relation to lets for detached houses, 570 (15%) for semi-detached houses, 406 (10%) for terraced houses, 860 (22%) for self-contained flats, and 350 (9%) for unconventional dwellings.

Chart 4: Licences in operation as at 30 June 2023, by type of premises and type of let

Tables D and E in the supporting Excel document show the number of licences in operation by each local authority, by type of premises and type of let.

This shows some variations in the proportions of types of premises across different local authority areas, some of which may reflect different underlying profiles of total dwellings in each area. For example 85% of licences in operation in Na h-Eileanan Siar are in relation to lets for detached houses, whilst 57% of licences in Dundee City, 66% of licences in Edinburgh and 71% of licences in Aberdeen City are in relation to self-contained flats.

In terms of types of let, only 13% of licences in operation in Edinburgh and 20% of licences in Glasgow are for secondary letting, with these areas having higher proportions of applications across the total remaining home sharing / letting categories. In particular, 62% of licences in operation in Glasgow are for home sharing.

Accommodation Unit Information

Accommodation information has been provided for 95% (3,726) of the 3,903 licenses or exemptions in operation, equating to a total of 4,262 accommodation units. Information on the number of bedrooms was provided for all but 24 licences, totalling 10,777 bedrooms, whilst information on the maximum occupancy was provided for all but 6 licences, equating to a total maximum occupancy of 20,566 people.

Excluding authorities with fewer than 10 total records per category, authorities with the highest average number of accommodation units per licence in operation include East Dunbartonshire (3.0 units per licence), West Lothian (1.8), and West Dunbartonshire (1.6).

Authorities with the highest average number of bedrooms per licence include West Dunbartonshire (4.3 bedrooms per licence), West Lothian (3.9), Argyll and Bute (3.7) and Fife (3.6), with the lowest including City of Edinburgh (2.1) and Shetland (2.1).

Authorities with the highest average maximum occupancy per licence include West Dunbartonshire (10.3 average maximum occupancy per licence) and East Lothian (7.2), with the lowest including Glasgow City (3.7), City of Edinburgh (3.9) and Aberdeen City (4.1).

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) Rating

As set out in the supporting Excel document Scotland Summary Table J, information on EPC rating is available for 59% (2,302) of the 3,903 licences or exemptions in operation. Of these the majority (79% or 1,820 licences) had a rating of band C, D or E, with 9% (196 licences) having the highest ratings of A or B, and 12% (286 licences) having the lowest ratings of F or G.