Tuesday December 2nd 2025
Edinburgh City Chambers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Edinburgh Council’s regulatory boss will write to the Scottish Government asking for the maximum penalty for unlicensed short-term letting to be increased.
At present, operators can only be fined £2,500, while those who run unlicensed HMOs and unregistered lets can be fined up to £50,000.
During Monday’s regulatory committee meeting, councillors backed having convener and Liberal Democrat councillor Neil Ross write the letter.
He said: “I think it is appropriate to highlight that there is a very significant difference between the maximum fine possible for an unlicensed short-term let compared to the maximum fine for an unlicensed HMO or unregistered landlord.
“And that, clearly, the evidence in relation to the numbers of unlicensed short-term lets, I think there is a need for the Scottish Government to look at this.”
Fellow Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Caldwell said: “Just to thank licensing enforcement colleagues for the way they’ve handled this still relatively new piece of legislation, and the results they have been getting.”
At the meeting, the council also confirmed that a second operator of unlicensed short-term lets had been fined in the capital.
Trading standards and enforcement manager Tom Veitch said he was not aware of the financial penalty given, but that he would update the committee when he did.
In October, the council revealed the first conviction against an operator, who was required to pay £1,100 in fines and compensation.
At the time, the council said it had reported a total of 13 cases of unlicensed short-term letting in the capital to the Procurator Fiscal.
Licensing of short-term lets came to the capital in 2022, in hopes of tackling an upsurge in the use of homes as holiday lets and limit their impact on city neighbourhoods.
The council has said that operators found guilty of running the lets without a licence would likely have consequences for any future applications they might make.
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