In Scotland, a short-term-let licence and planning permission answer different questions. Scottish Government Planning Circular 1/2023 says that, within a short-term-let control area, changing a dwellinghouse to short-term letting is treated as a material change of use and requires planning permission. Outside a control area, permission may still be needed if the use amounts to a material change.
The circular says the control-area rule is not retrospective by itself. That does not mean that every earlier short-term let is automatically exempt: the ordinary material-change-of-use test can still apply. The guidance points to considerations such as effects on neighboring amenity and local infrastructure. A local authority must assess the circumstances; the national circular does not decide a specific address.
Check the place, use, and history
Confirm whether the property is in a designated control area and review its planning history. Ask the planning authority whether the proposed or existing pattern of short-term letting is a material change of use and whether planning permission is needed. Separately check the short-term-let licence, any conditions, and the applicable development-plan policies.
If the unit is an annexe or secondary dwelling, first confirm how the planning authority classifies it. Do not assume that a short-term-let licence creates a new dwelling or removes an existing use restriction. This article summarizes national planning guidance; it is not a decision on a property or a substitute for current local advice.