Wednesday March 25th 2026
Edinburgh City Chambers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
A ‘loophole’ allowing short-term lets to operate without planning controls will be explored after a decision by Edinburgh councillors.
A motion at Thursday’s full council meeting by Green councillor and co-convener Chas Booth described how some short-term lets have been getting licences despite not having planning consent.
It added that some short-term let operators were pulling their applications for planning consent after getting a licence to operate.
Councillors backed the motion with amendments, with the final agreement asking officers to bring a report to the city’s planning committee discussing the issue.
Additionally, it instructs the council’s chief executive to write to the Scottish Government’s permanent secretary asking for the legislative issues causing the loophole to be closed.
Cllr Booth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the situation was making a ‘mockery’ of the city’s ‘commitment to use homes for people and not for profit’.
In recent months, a significant number of short-term let planning consent applications have been pulled at the last minute before they were to be considered after a licence to operate had been granted.
Prospective operators of a short-term let only need to say they are in the process of obtaining planning permission in order to apply for a licence to operate.
Cllr Booth continued: “This loophole means that short term let operators can keep submitting and withdrawing planning applications – allowing them to be given a license to operate while never actually having planning consent.
“While of course individuals sometimes need to be able to reapply for a range of reasons, the cynical use of repeat applications by some commercial STL operators makes a mockery of Edinburgh’s commitment to make sure our homes are used for people not profit.
“This seems to be a failure of the law around STL licensing, so it’s essential the next Scottish Government takes urgent action to close this loophole as soon as possible.”
He added that the council ‘hasn’t even fully recorded the size of the problem’, and that planning enforcement teams were overstretched.
A council spokesperson said: “We’re aware of the scale of this issue and a workshop is being held to allow officers and councillors to discuss options on the best way forward regarding enforcement.
“The outcome of this session will be reported to the Planning Committee in due course.”
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