A posting abroad raises the same questions every time: is it still your main home, which licence you need, what happens to your tax, and how you keep your own things safe. Here's the detail, in the order most owners need it.
The main-home test for owners working abroad
Everything starts with one question: is the Edinburgh home still your main home? The answer decides which licence you need, and whether planning permission comes into it.
The council looks at where you actually live, not just where your name is on a form. Signs that it's still your main home:
- You live there for most of the year, or you will again when the posting ends.
- It's your address for council tax, your bank and the electoral register.
- Your belongings, post and life are there.
- You come back to it between trips.
| Your situation | Usual route |
|---|---|
| A contract abroad of a few months, coming back to the same home | Home letting licence |
| Months on the road, home between trips | Home letting licence |
| A long posting where you've set up home somewhere else | May count as secondary letting: planning permission first, then a licence |
| Moved away for good | Secondary letting |
The middle ground is where owners need care. All of Edinburgh has been a short-term let control area since 5 September 2022, so letting a home that isn't your main home needs planning permission before you can apply for a licence. Our page on secondary letting and planning explains that route.
It depends on your situation, and the council's own guidance is the final word. We check it with you before anything is listed. If you're unsure, book a 15-minute call and bring the dates of your posting.
Getting a home letting licence before you leave
You can't take guests until the licence is granted, so the licence is the first thing to plan, not the last. The council can take up to nine months to decide and aims for about four. Start as soon as you know your dates.
The steps that need you in Edinburgh
- Certificates. Gas safety, EICR, PAT, a fire risk assessment, legionella risk assessment and EPC. Contractors need access, so book them while you're still at home.
- The site notice. It goes up at the property for 21 days so neighbours can comment.
- A possible inspection. Someone needs to let the council in. Agree who that will be.
- Lender and co-owners. Get permission in writing. A lender's reply can take a while from abroad.
The council fee for a new home letting licence is £120 per guest the home sleeps. Our support, from the planning check to the council's questions, is £600 + VAT. If your dates come before a full licence is likely, ask about a temporary licence. It lasts up to six weeks and is decided by the council. Our page on temporary licences and exemptions explains it, and a temporary licence with a home letting licence is £850 + VAT from us, bundled.
Once licensed, an Edinburgh condition asks you to write to every other household in the building within 28 days, and every year after. The full list is on our home letting licence page, and the council fees are on our licence costs page.
Tax when you let your Edinburgh home from abroad
This is the section where we say it plainly: speak to your accountant before your first booking. Your tax depends on where you live, for how long and what else you earn. What follows is the general picture, not advice.
Income tax on the profits
The special tax rules for furnished holiday lets ended in April 2025. Short-let profits are now taxed like other rental income. Our free guide on short-let tax after April 2025, on the guides page, covers mortgage interest, furniture and records.
Non-resident landlords
HMRC treats you as a non-resident landlord if you live abroad for six months or more a year, even if you're still UK resident for tax. Under that scheme, a letting agent usually deducts basic rate tax from the rent, unless HMRC has approved you to receive it without deduction. You still declare the income on a Self Assessment return unless HMRC tells you otherwise. Tell your accountant early, and let us know your situation when we set up.
Council tax and the levy
A home let under a home letting licence normally stays on council tax. If it stops being your main home, the picture changes. Second homes in Edinburgh pay a 100% premium now, and the council has voted to raise it to 300% from 1 January 2027. Our pages on council tax or business rates and the council tax premium go into it.
The Visitor Levy isn't your income. It's added to the guest's price, shown separately on your statement and taken off before our fee. We give you a clear yearly summary to help your accountant.
Setting up an owner's cupboard in your own home
Letting the home you live in is different from letting a holiday flat. Your clothes, papers and favourite mugs are there. An owner's cupboard, or a locked room, keeps them yours while guests use the rest.
What to lock away
- Passports, bank papers, title deeds and anything with your personal details on it.
- Jewellery, cameras, spare laptops and anything you couldn't replace.
- Photographs, letters and things with a story.
- Most of your clothes and shoes, and your own toiletries.
- Good wine, fancy knives and the coffee machine you're fussy about.
What guests need left out
- Clear wardrobe space and at least a couple of empty drawers per bedroom.
- A working kitchen: pans, plates, cutlery, glasses and a kettle.
- A cleared shelf in the fridge, and an empty bathroom cabinet.
A simple test helps: walk round each room and ask what you'd mind if it broke. Put that away. The home should still feel lived in, just not cluttered with your life.
Before the first guest, everything is photographed. After every stay the home is cleaned, the linen changed and it's checked against those photos. Our licence requirements page covers the safety side, from alarms to the fire risk assessment, and our page on Airbnb management in Edinburgh shows what guests get in every home.
Blocking dates and coming home for a visit
Your home is only open to guests when you choose. If you're back for Christmas, a wedding or a week of meetings, block the dates in your owner login from wherever you are, and we let the home around them.
Tips for planning visits
- Block early for busy weeks. August and Hogmanay book well ahead. If you want to be home then, block the dates before guests take them. Bookings already made should be honoured.
- Leave a day either side. A clean before you arrive and after you leave keeps the next guest's stay on track.
- Use the owner's cupboard. Keep a set of your own bedding or towels there if you like them.
- Think about the quiet months. Staying in February costs less in lost bookings than staying in August.
When the posting ends
Tell us your return date as soon as you know it. We stop letting from that date and hand the home back just as you left it. If your plans change and you'd like to keep letting for a while, that's fine too.
Longer stays can fill quieter months while you're away. Contractors and visiting academics often want a few weeks to a few months. See our pages on contractor accommodation and stays for visiting professionals for the guests we're talking about.
Running your Edinburgh home from another time zone
You won't take calls about the boiler at 3am your time. That's the point. Here's who answers what, and when.
| Who | When we answer |
|---|---|
| Guests staying in your home | Messages 9am to midnight, every day, and a 24/7 emergency line during a stay |
| You, the owner | Phone and messages Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm UK time |
So if a guest can't get the heating on at 10pm on a Saturday, we deal with it then. You read about it later. Message us whenever suits your time zone and we'll reply in our working hours.
Decisions that need you
Repairs over an agreed amount come to you by WhatsApp or email, with the quote. Anything below it, we book and check. Agree the amount before you leave, and tell us how quickly you can usually reply.
What you see every month
One statement a month, and every booking in your owner login. Before winter, the boiler, pressure and heating are checked, so a January pipe isn't your problem.
Full management is from 15% + VAT of net booking revenue, which is 18% including VAT. See our fees for the tiers. To see the numbers for your dates, ask for a free plan, or try our earnings calculator first. Let's talk about your home before you pack.
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.
