{"id":6866,"date":"2026-03-24T10:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T10:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/?p=6866"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:26:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:26:03","slug":"holiday-let-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Let Licence Guide for England, Scotland &#038; Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>Whilst the rise in short-term holiday lets had brought many benefits to the tourism sector and economy, it has also prompted a range of concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The Government aims to address the impact that short-term lets have on the housing market, local communities and anti-social behaviour from guests. There are also concerns that hosts and holiday let landlords are not abiding by health and safety legislation that\u2019s designed to keep guests safe.<\/p>\n<p>If you let out your holiday home or are thinking about doing so, it\u2019s important to understand the legal requirements. Rules around holiday let licensing and registration are continuously evolving in different parts of the UK, with Scotland already operating a licensing system, Wales preparing for a phased rollout, and England consulting on its own national scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know about the holiday let licensing scheme, based on where your holiday property is located in the UK.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Holiday let licence in England<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>At present, there is no active licensing scheme in England for holiday lets, but statutory registration remains firmly on the Government\u2019s agenda. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pascuk.co.uk\/reports\/\">PASC UK White Paper on Statutory Registatration <\/a>(published March 2025) outlines how a national register could operate, with most industry stakeholders supporting the move.<\/p>\n<p>While timelines are still not confirmed, PASC UK\u2019s proposed registration model would seek to ensure greater <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/4060\/holiday-cottage-health-safety-legislation\/\">health and safety compliance<\/a>, data transparency, and improved local authority oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Further information<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/delivering-a-registration-scheme-for-short-term-lets\">https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/delivering-a-registration-scheme-for-short-term-lets<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Holiday let licence in Wales<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Providers of visitor accommodation, beginning with self-catering accommodation will be required to register and obtain a licence. \u00a0The licensing scheme is expected to start in 2029.<\/p>\n<p>To get a licence, providers will need to prove their accommodation is fit for visitors, by showing they have gas and electrical safety certificates, carbon monoxide alarms, public liability insurance, and that they have both conducted a fire safety risk assessment and taken relevant precautions.<\/p>\n<p>Further information<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.wales\/wales-to-create-new-standards-for-holiday-accommodation\">https:\/\/www.gov.wales\/wales-to-create-new-standards-for-holiday-accommodation<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Holiday let licence in Scotland<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Scotland has been operating a mandatory short-term let licensing scheme since October 2022. Any new hosts must first obtain a license before they start to take guest bookings, with existing hosts needing to apply for a licence by April 2023. Hosts can be fined up to \u00a32,500 if they fail to comply with this scheme.<\/p>\n<p>There are currently different licences for different letting situations. For example, \u2018home sharing\u2019, \u2018home letting\u2019, and \u2018secondary lettings\u2019 \u2014 with local authorities overseeing the entire process from application to enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Local councils also have the power to designate <strong>\u2018<\/strong>control areas\u2019 to manage the concentration of short-term lets. For example, in Edinburgh, the entire city is a \u2018control area\u2019. Despite the legislation, however, the local authority still seeks to support major events like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; reducing safety inspection requirements and capping application fees at \u00a3120.00 for that period of time.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports published over the past couple of years, the impact of licensing on short-term let availability in cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow has been modest, though some hosts and operators have chosen to exit the market.<\/p>\n<p>Further information<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mygov.scot\/browse\/housing\/short-term-let-licensing\">https:\/\/www.mygov.scot\/browse\/housing\/short-term-let-licensing<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mygov.scot\/short-term-let-licences\">https:\/\/www.mygov.scot\/short-term-let-licences<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.scot\/publications\/short-term-lets\/\">https:\/\/www.gov.scot\/publications\/short-term-lets\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/support.visitscotland.org\/advice-support\/start-your-business\/legislation\/short-term-lets\">https:\/\/support.visitscotland.org\/advice-support\/start-your-business\/legislation\/short-term-lets<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary of rules by UK country<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>England:<\/strong> No active scheme in place yet. Statutory registration is currently under consultation.<br \/>\n<strong>Wales:<\/strong> The licensing scheme is expected to start in 2029.<br \/>\n<strong>Scotland: <\/strong>Licensing in place since October 2022, with optional designated \u2018control areas\u2019, depending on the relevant local council\u2019s preference.<\/p>\n<p>Holiday let regulations continue to change in the UK, so holiday let owners should ensure they stay compliant with any new or changing short-term let legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\">2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span> Whilst the rise in short-term holiday lets had brought many benefits to the tourism sector and economy, it has also prompted a range of concerns. The Government aims to address the impact that short-term lets have on the housing market, local communities and anti-social behaviour from guests. There are also concerns that hosts and holiday let landlords are not abiding &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holiday-letting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Holiday Let Licence Guide for England, Scotland &amp; Wales<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This guide aims to outline the short-term holiday let licencing schemes for England, Scotland &amp; Wales that have, or are due to be introduced.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Holiday Let Licence Guide for England, Scotland &amp; Wales\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This guide aims to outline the short-term holiday let licencing schemes for England, Scotland &amp; Wales that have, or are due to be introduced.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tips for Marketing &amp; Running a Successful Holiday Let\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T10:48:24+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T12:26:03+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/\",\"name\":\"Holiday Let Licence Guide for England, Scotland & Wales\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T10:48:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T12:26:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9155ce047da1ffc98839b2464a5d494a\"},\"description\":\"This guide aims to outline the short-term holiday let licencing schemes for England, Scotland & Wales that have, or are due to be introduced.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/6866\/holiday-let-licence\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Holiday Let Licence Guide for England, Scotland &#038; Wales\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Tips for Marketing &amp; Running a Successful Holiday Let\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9155ce047da1ffc98839b2464a5d494a\",\"name\":\"Philip\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e868fd95213fdf7fdbc976d34987825?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e868fd95213fdf7fdbc976d34987825?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Philip\"},\"description\":\"Founded in 1984, Schofields is a family run company specialising in holiday home insurance for properties in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. 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