Karen Gatherum, solicitor and licencing specialist at Gilson Gray, and Neil Gray, director at Gray Planning and Development

Four months before the start of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival warnings are already being sounded about the city’s ability to host the thousands of artists and performers who arrive during August. That’s not to mention the 700,000 people who attend the shows – notwithstanding the significant local representation in this figure.

Historically, short-term letting operators have provided a significant amount of the supply of accommodation during the Fringe. But, recent changes to legislation affecting these tenancies are preventing many landlords from renting out their properties and, with the first wave of licences granted for short-term lets coming up for renewal, much of that may not be available for this year’s instalment.

The latter point is significant. Many of the initial short-term letting licences were granted without planning permission – but, as a Freedom of Information request lodged by Gilson Gray found last year, 90% of applications made to the City of Edinburgh Council since have been rejected.

You can already see the effect the lack of supply is having. Last month, the Fringe Society launched its ‘host an artist’ initiative to try to alleviate the shortage of accommodation, with the cost of staying in a one-bedroom property for the entirety of August reportedly reaching £9,000 – up around 300% in the space of six years.

While there is already a problem to contend with, these figures bode even worse for 2026. If the renewals going through for October are told to seek planning permission – as many of the cases we have seen are, even when they should not require it – then the availability of short-term accommodation is only going to be eroded even further.

For landlords of properties let on a short-term basis, there is a real lack of information to make an informed decision about what they should do. It is difficult to say what way planning decisions will go – even based on the strength of the submission – and the costs involved are significant. Here are six steps to consider when making an application:

1. Submit a planning application – Condition 13 of the licencing rules state that if you don’t have a live planning application or permission already granted, your submission will fail. Even if your hopes of gaining permission are low, at least put in an application so you can tick the box and continue to operate for as long as possible.
2. If you’ve been rejected, apply again – You can put in another application, with no additional planning application fee, for the same proposal within 12 months of refusal or withdrawal of a previous application, if you have the financial means and willpower to do so. The re-submission could be made with enhanced evidence, new information or something else that may improve the chances of obtaining planning permission.
3. Owning multiple properties will hurt your application – If you own multiple properties and are trying to let one of several of them on a short-term basis, then the odds of success are slim. The local authority will argue that this constitutes a loss of residential stock and will be able to refuse the application on that basis.
4. Don’t change licence type to avoid planning – Changing from a secondary letting to a home letting licence – which means you currently still live in the property and consider it your primary residence – to circumvent planning may be tempting, but it is unlikely to work. Even if the property is your only one in the UK, that probably won’t make for a strong enough argument that it should be available on a short-term let.
5. If the council asks for information, take advice – Do not rush to fill in a form from the council requesting information about the use of your property. You may say the property is being let out for a certain amount of time, but this will be checked against listings and review sites and, depending on what the local authority’s planning department can deduce, it may decide this constitutes a material change of use.
6. Make a good impression and demonstrate your record – The committee wants to weed out anyone they believe is not providing a quality home or service, so demonstrate to the local authority that you are a genuine and experienced short-term lettings operator. Part of making that case is demonstrating a track record of good management, proactively engaging with neighbours, and ensuring each visit passes without incident, while any issues are quickly addressed.

While the short-term lettings legislation affects all of Scotland, it is especially problematic in Edinburgh, given the sheer number of tourists year-round, which intensifies during the Fringe. If you are a landlord in the city with a licence coming up for renewal, consider your options carefully and speak to a professional for support before making a firm decision.