The tables above give you each fee on its own. Here's how they add up for real homes, what comes back every year, and the costs owners most often leave out of their sums.
Short-term let licence costs in Edinburgh: what to budget, start to finish
It helps to think about licence costs in four parts, not three. The first three are on this page already: the council's fee, getting the home ready, and our support if you'd like it. The fourth is what comes back over time, because a licence isn't a one-off purchase.
- The council's fee. Set by the City of Edinburgh Council, based on the licence type and how many guests the home sleeps. It isn't refunded if the licence is refused.
- Getting the home ready. Certificates, alarms, a fire risk assessment, a legionella risk assessment, an EPC, a floor plan and insurance that covers short lets. Many homes already have some of these.
- Support with the application. Our fee for checking the planning position, preparing the pack, submitting it and answering the council's questions. Optional, and shown separately.
- Keeping it. The yearly gas check, electrical tests when they fall due, insurance renewals, the fire risk assessment review and the renewal fee every few years.
Why the order matters
Spend money in the order that protects you. Check planning and the main-home question first, because they cost nothing to check and decide everything. Then check your lender, title deeds and insurer. Then book certificates. Pay the council fee last, when you know the application is complete.
If you're still deciding whether a licence is right for you, our licensing hub explains the routes, and the requirements checklist shows which items your home may already have. For a home you don't live in, start with secondary letting and planning before you budget anything else.
Three worked Edinburgh licence budgets
These examples use the council's published fees and our support fees. They're illustrations, so certificates and insurance are left out, because those depend on the home and what it already has.
A Fringe temporary exemption, home sleeps 4
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Council fee, 1 to 5 guests | £250 |
| Stays In support, £400 + VAT | £480 |
| Total before certificates | £730 |
A home letting licence, home sleeps 4
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Council fee, £120 per guest | £480 |
| Stays In support, £600 + VAT | £720 |
| Total before certificates | £1,200 |
This summer and the long term: temporary licence plus home letting licence, home sleeps 4
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Council fee, temporary licence, 1 to 5 guests | £250 |
| Council fee, home letting, £120 per guest | £480 |
| Stays In bundle, £850 + VAT | £1,020 |
| Total before certificates | £1,750 |
If you'd rather let for two separate periods, such as the Fringe and Hogmanay, two temporary licences are £700 + VAT (£840) in support, plus the council fee for each one. Adding an exemption as well is £950 + VAT (£1,140).
Your own figures will differ with the number of guests and what the home needs. Your free plan shows the exact council fee for your home, anything missing and our fees, with nothing left out. For the Fringe route, see the temporary exemption page, and for the longer term the home letting licence.
Secondary letting licence costs, and the planning budget
A secondary letting licence costs more than the others, and the planning stage comes first, with its own costs. Better to see the whole picture before you start.
| Guests the home sleeps | New licence | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | £653 | £1,053 |
| 4 or 5 | £1,089 | £1,489 |
| 6 to 10 | £2,481 | £2,881 |
| 11 to 15 | £3,872 | £4,272 |
These are the council's published fees. In Edinburgh, a new secondary letting licence is granted for one year, and renewals can then be for one or three years. Three-year renewals are for homes with no complaints.
The planning stage
Because all of Edinburgh is a short-term let control area, a whole home that isn't your main home needs planning permission, or a Certificate of Lawfulness if it was already a lawful short let. Planning has its own application fee, and many owners also pay a planning consultant or solicitor. Ask for those costs before you commit, and remember that planning for flats on a shared stair is the hardest to get.
We don't prepare secondary letting or planning applications. We do manage homes that already have both. If planning isn't realistic, the honest comparison is often with a long let. Our guide Short let or long let? The Edinburgh numbers sets them side by side, and Buying a short-let property in Edinburgh covers the checks to make before you buy. The Edinburgh rules page explains the control area in more detail.
Ongoing licence costs: what comes back every year
Owners tend to budget for the application and forget the years after. None of these costs are large on their own, but they add up, and a lapsed certificate can put the licence at risk.
| Cost | How often |
|---|---|
| Gas safety certificate | Every year, if there's gas |
| EICR and PAT testing | As your electrician advises |
| Fire risk assessment review | Whenever anything changes |
| Buildings and public liability insurance | Every year |
| Home letting renewal fee | £360 per guest, every three years |
| Change of day-to-day manager | £137, when it happens |
| Other variations, such as layout | £74, when it happens |
| Transfer to a new licence holder | £120, when it happens |
Spreading the renewal fee
For a home letting licence, the renewal is £360 per guest for three years. That works out at £120 per guest per year. For a home that sleeps four, that's £1,440 every three years, or £480 a year.
Missing the renewal date costs more
If the licence expires without a renewal going in, you have to stop taking guests. After the 28-day late window, which needs good cause, you need a new application, and you can't host until it's granted. Lost bookings during that wait usually cost far more than the fee. Our renewal page has a timeline that avoids gaps.
Council tax or business rates are a running cost too. Which one applies depends on how many nights the home is available and actually let. See council tax or business rates for the 140/70 rule.
Costs owners often leave out of their sums
The licence is the visible cost. These are the ones that tend to appear later, and they're easier to plan for than to discover.
- Insurance that covers short lets. Usually more than a standard home policy, and needed for buildings, public liability and contents.
- Furniture that meets the fire rules. Older sofas and mattresses without labels may need replacing.
- Interlinked alarms. If the home still has standalone alarms, budget for an electrician or sealed-battery units.
- Linen, towels and kit. Enough for at least two full changeovers, matched to the number of guests on the licence.
- Photography and the listing. Good photos matter more than most owners expect.
- Your lender. Some charge for consent to let, or change the terms. Ask early.
- Your own time. Gathering documents, letting contractors in and answering the council's questions takes more hours than most people expect, and usually on weekdays.
- A refused fee. The council doesn't refund it, which is why we check planning and the paperwork first.
Things that aren't your cost
The Visitor Levy is paid by guests, not by you. In the City of Edinburgh it's 5% of the accommodation price for the first five nights of a stay, for stays from 24 July 2026. Hosts collect it and pay the council. It doesn't apply in East Lothian.
Cleaning is usually paid by guests as a cleaning fee on most bookings. Our short-let starter pack lists every cost in one place, and the house manual kit covers the guest information you'll need.
Licence costs alongside management fees
Licence support is available on its own, at the fees on this page. If you'd also like us to look after the home, here's how the numbers fit together, so nothing comes as a surprise.
Our management fee
Management is from 15% + VAT of net booking revenue for one to four homes, 13.5% + VAT for five to nine, 12% + VAT for ten to nineteen, and tailored for twenty or more. Net booking revenue is what guests paid after platform fees, cleaning and the Visitor Levy. With VAT added, 15% + VAT is 18% of net booking revenue, so that's the figure to use in your sums.
New owners who sign a one-year management agreement by 31 December 2026 pay 10% + VAT for their first four months, on every tier, then their tier rate.
Onboarding
| Home size | One-off onboarding |
|---|---|
| Studio, 1 or 2 bedrooms | £400 + VAT (£480) |
| 3 or 4 bedrooms | £500 + VAT (£600) |
| 5 or 6 bedrooms | £600 + VAT (£720) |
Licensing support for managed homes is quoted in your plan. Our pricing page has a calculator so you can check the numbers yourself, and the owners page shows what full management includes.
Weighing it up
The useful question isn't what the licence costs, but what the home could earn once it's licensed. Our earnings calculator gives a first idea, and the Airbnb management page shows typical prices by area.
Keeping licence costs down without cutting corners
There's no cheap way round safety, and there shouldn't be. There are sensible ways to avoid paying twice.
- Choose the right route. If you only want August, a temporary exemption is far cheaper than a full licence. If the home is your main home, home letting avoids planning altogether.
- Gather what you already have. Many homes have a current gas certificate, a recent EICR or a valid EPC. Find them before you book anything.
- Book contractors together. One electrician visit for the EICR and PAT test. One trip for alarms and the fire risk assessment if the same firm does both.
- Choose your guest number carefully. For home letting, the fee is per guest. But increasing occupancy later needs a new application, so set the number you'll really use, not the lowest you can.
- Bundle where it fits. A temporary licence and a home letting licence together cost less in support fees than separately.
- Renew on time. A late renewal can mean a new application, a new fee and a gap in bookings.
- Get it right first time. A refused application loses the fee. A complete, accurate pack is the cheapest one.
If you'd like a clear figure for your own home, the free plan lists the council fee, anything the home still needs and our fees, by 11am the next working day. Or book a 15-minute call with one of the co-founders. If you already host and want a second opinion, our free listing review is a good place to start.
Budgeting the whole picture? Read how much an Airbnb earns in Edinburgh and which licence you need.
Book a 15-minute call with one of the co-founders, or get a free plan for your home: what it could earn, the licence route and every cost.
