Short Term Lets Licensing Statistics Scotland to 31 March 2023

Licences in operation

Local authorities with the highest numbers of total licences in operation include Highland (847), Dumfries and Galloway (332) and Fife (271), which together account for over two-thirds (1,450 or 70%) of all licences in operation as at 31 March 2023. Local authorities with the lowest numbers include Clackmannanshire (0), Inverclyde (0), Midlothian (0), Scottish Borders (0), South Lanarkshire (0), Stirling (0) and East Renfrewshire (1). There was a relatively low number of licences in operation in both City of Edinburgh (43) and Glasgow City (63) and other urban local authorities such as Aberdeen City (23) and Dundee City (14).

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 valid applications received include Highland and Na h-Eileanan Siar (with 69 and 63 licences per 10,000 dwellings, respectively) and Dumfries and Galloway (44). There was a relatively low rate of total licences in operation in  both City of Edinburgh (1.6) and Glasgow City (2.0) and other urban local authorities such as Aberdeen City (1.9) and Dundee City (1.8).

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 31 March 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 31 March 2023, by type and local authority area (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 759 data zones have had at least one valid application received to 31 March 2023, which equates to 11% of the total 6,796 data zones in Scotland.

The data zones with the highest rates per 1,000 dwellings are summarised in Table 3 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 31 March 2023 there were a total of 2,085 licences or exemptions in operation, consisting of 943 (45%) full licences, 1,135 (54%) provisional licences, 2 (0.1%) temporary licences, and 5 (0.2%) temporary exemptions.

Of the 943 full licences in operation, 734 were received between October and December 2022, and 209 were received between January and March 2023.

Of the 1,135 provisional licences in operation, 354 were received between October 2022, and 781 were received between January to December 2023.

Two temporary licences have been granted, one in City of Edinburgh and one in Perth and Kinross, both received in October to December 2022. Five exemptions have been granted, all in City of Edinburgh, of which four were received in October to December 2022, and one was received in January to March 2023.

Local authorities in which full licences make up a high proportion of all licences in operation include Na h-Eileanan Siar in which full licences account for 87 (92%) of all 95 licences in operation, and Shetland in which full licences account for 17 (89%) of all 19 licences in operation. Local authorities in which provisional licences account for all (i.e. 100%) of licences in operation include Angus (17 total licences of which all are provisional), North Ayrshire (22 of which all are provisional) and South Ayrshire (22 of which all are provisional).

Chart 3: Licences in operation as at 31 March 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 2,085 total licences or exemptions in operation as at 31 March 2023, the majority (1,734 or 83%) relate to secondary letting (i.e. where a non-primary residence is let out), with 219 (11%) being for home sharing, 80 (4%) for home letting, and 52 (2%) for a mixture of home sharing and letting.

A total of 913 (44%) licences are in relation to lets for detached houses, 308 (15%) for semi-detached houses, 224 (11%) for terraced houses, 432 (21%) for self-contained flats, and 208 (10%) for unconventional dwellings.

Chart 4: Licences in operation as at 31 March 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 82% of licences in operation in Na h-Eileanan Siar are in relation to lets for detached houses, whilst 71% of licences in Dundee City, 70% of licences in Aberdeen City, and 63% of licences in Edinburgh, are in relation to self-contained flats.

In terms of types of let, only 19% of licences in operation in Edinburgh and 17% 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, 67% of licences in operation in Glasgow were for home sharing.

Accommodation Unit Information

Accommodation information has been provided for 96% (2,010) of the 2,085 licenses or exemptions in operation, equating to a total of 2,295 accommodation units. Information on the number of bedrooms was provided for all but 1 licence, totalling 5,640 bedrooms, whilst information on the maximum occupancy was provided for all but 3 licences, equating to a total maximum occupancy of 10,969 people.

Authorities with the highest average number of accommodation units per licence in operation include Argyll and Bute (1.6 units per licence), Angus (1.5), and East Lothian (1.4). Authorities with the highest average number of bedrooms per licence include Argyll and Bute (3.6 bedrooms per licence) and Fife (3.3), whilst authorities with the highest average maximum occupancy per licence include East Lothian (7.6 average maximum occupancy per licence) and Angus (6.3).

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) Rating

As set out in the supporting Excel document Scotland Summary Table J, information on EPC rating is available for 51% (1,065) of the 2,095 licences or exemptions in operation. Of these the majority (79% or 839 licences) had a rating of band C, D or E, with 10% (106 licences) having the highest ratings of A or B, and 11% (120 licences) having the lowest ratings of F or G.