Changes could be coming to the holiday rental market in Scotland as authorities there consider new licensing regulations that some argue would control the number of short-term lets (STLs) and second homes, and help to boost the affordability of housing in some areas.
The Highland Council is citing figures that show six percent of homes across the Highlands are licensed as STLs, including through platforms such as Airbnb. In some areas, such as Skye and Lochalsh, the proportion of “potential dwellings” that have become short-term holiday lets is as high as 17%. That figure sits at 11% when looking at housing built since 2020. At the same time, just over 7,000 short-term rentals have been given permits across the Highlands, with only four applications refused, council data reveals.
One report put in front of councillors said, “The evidence at this time indicates that the establishment of a Short Term Let Control Area may be justified in Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.” Councillor Biz Campbell, co-chair of the committee, agreed, describing “Ross and Cromarty West and Skye and Lochalsh Housing Market Areas” as “less affordable” with “higher rates of STLs and second homes than Highland as a whole.”
The Scottish Highlands already has two official control areas, one in Edinburgh and one in Badenoch and Strathspey, where rules came into effect in March 2024 requiring owners wanting to turn their property into a holiday let to apply for planning permission. Since autumn 2025, the 20 other wards in the Highlands have had the right to impose the same restrictions.
So far, Lochaber, where popular destinations such as Ben Nevis, Glencoe, and Fort William are located, has already voted to undertake a public consultation on introducing a control zone. Meanwhile, councillors in Black Isle, Caithness, and East Ross have rejected the idea for now.
“The ASSC does not believe there is a sufficient evidence base to progress with a short-term let control area for Lochaber. Targeting small businesses as a means of addressing longstanding housing issues – especially when there are a larger number of empty homes across the… https://t.co/Zx4dWcGvkX
— ASSC News (@ASSCnews) November 11, 2025
Critics of the measures, such as Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, fear the impact of license restrictions on local economic activity and have pointed to the number of unoccupied properties in the Highlands as a more urgent problem than the hospitality sector stakeholders.
"From start to finish, it’s been an absolute shambles – an exercise in how not to consult.
— ASSC News (@ASSCnews) November 19, 2025
"Other councils in Scotland have taken the pragmatic and measured decision to postpone their work in order to consider changes at a national level which would allow for a simpler flat-fee… https://t.co/yaPGriseDu
“Targeting small businesses as a means of addressing longstanding housing issues – especially when there are a larger number of empty homes across the Highlands – shows a muddled sense of priorities,” Campbell said, highlighting that “the local economy relies on tourism and self-catering is an integral component of the visitor accommodation mix.”
