Short-Term Let Control Areas: Extent and Effects

Short-Term Let Control Areas (STLCAs) are one of the most consequential additions to Scotland's planning landscape in a generation. For STL operators, understanding what they are, where they apply, what they do, and - crucially - what they do not do, is essential. This guide brings together the law, the current designation map, the new proposals out to consultation, the protections for pre-existing operators, and our practical recommendations.

The current map

As of May 2026, two STLCAs have been confirmed by Scottish Ministers and are in force:

• City of Edinburgh (whole local authority area). Confirmed 5 September 2022. The first STLCA in Scotland and still the largest by population.
• Highland - Ward 20 Badenoch and Strathspey. Confirmed 4 March 2024. Covers a single ward in the eastern Highlands centred on Aviemore.

In May 2026, Highland Council launched a public consultation on two further proposed STLCAs - an Inverness City area, and a sweeping rural area covering Lochaber, Sutherland, Skye and Raasay, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, Ward 12 Aird and Loch Ness, and the southern rural portion of Ward 19. If confirmed, this would be the largest single STLCA in Scotland by area. See our Highland consultation briefing for the detail.

A number of other Scottish councils have, at various points, explored designating control areas. None has yet progressed to formal consultation. We track these developments and publish updates as they happen.

Where the law sits

The power to designate a short-term let control area sits in Section 26B of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (inserted by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019). The core provision is short and direct:

"In a short-term let control area, the use of a dwellinghouse for the purpose of providing short-term lets is deemed to involve a material change of use of the dwellinghouse."

The word that does the work is deemed. In a control area, the question of whether a particular STL use is or is not a material change of use is settled by the statute itself; no separate "fact and degree" assessment is required by the council. The change of use exists automatically, and planning permission is automatically needed.

Three things are excluded from this automatic effect:

1. Home-lets and home-shares - i.e. where the property is the operator's principal home (whether let entire while the owner is away, or partially while they remain in residence). The statutory mechanism is concerned with secondary letting only. 2. Uses that pre-date the control area's confirmation - the deeming provision only bites on uses commenced after the STLCA takes effect. 3. Purpose-built holiday accommodation that has never been a dwelling (pods, custom-built self-catering units, cabins not converted from residential stock).

It is worth being precise about the second point because it is the most commonly misunderstood.

The Muirhead protection for pre-existing use

The leading authority on the temporal scope of Section 26B is Muirhead [2023] CSOH 86. The Court of Session held that the deeming provision in Section 26B does not apply retrospectively. An STL use that was already underway when the control area was confirmed does not become a "deemed material change of use" by virtue of the designation; the deeming only attaches to uses that begin after the STLCA's confirmation.

In practical terms, this means an operator who can demonstrate that their STL use was underway and lawful before the relevant confirmation date sits outside the automatic Section 26B requirement. That status is preserved even though the surrounding area is now designated.

This protection is not self-executing. To rely on it, an operator typically needs a Certificate of Lawfulness for Existing Use or Development (CLEUD) confirming that the pre-control-area use was, in fact, lawful. We discuss this further below.

How an STLCA gets designated

The designation process is set out in regulations under the 1997 Act. In summary:

1. The council resolves to consult. A local authority committee (typically Economy / Planning) decides to put a proposed STLCA out for public consultation. The council must publish reasons - usually framed around housing market pressure, neighbourhood amenity, or visitor management. 2. Public consultation runs for at least 28 days. In practice consultations run longer - the current Highland consultation runs from 12 May to 23 June 2026, roughly six weeks. 3. The council considers responses and votes. A council can amend the proposed area before voting to submit it to Ministers. Operators and other stakeholders who responded to the consultation should expect to see the substance of their submissions reflected in the committee paper. 4. Submission to Scottish Ministers. The Council sends its decision and supporting evidence to the Scottish Government for confirmation or refusal. 5. Ministerial approval. Ministers can confirm, refuse, or modify. Confirmation is the moment that Section 26B starts to bite for new uses.

The end-to-end process commonly takes several months from initial council resolution to Ministerial confirmation, though the exact timeline depends on Ministerial workload and any modifications requested.

What "secondary letting" means in this context

The control area regime is about secondary letting - properties used for STL where the operator is not normally resident. The 2022 Licensing Order categories give a useful framework: the same property would attract different treatment depending on whether it falls into secondary letting, home letting, home sharing, or one of the exemptions.

Whether a particular operating model is "secondary letting" can be borderline. Property held by a personal company; properties used by extended family members; mixed-use seasonal arrangements; co-letting and time-share arrangements - all of these can generate definitional questions. Where there is real ambiguity, the safer course is to take advice before lodging anything with the council.

The practical effect on operators

For operators inside an existing STLCA, the position depends on when the use began:

• Use began before the STLCA was confirmed. You are not caught by Section 26B. You may still need to demonstrate that the use was lawful at the time it began (i.e. that it did not require permission under the standard "fact and degree" test in Section 26(1)). A CLEUD is the standard way to put this beyond doubt.
• Use began after the STLCA was confirmed. You require planning permission as of right. Operating without it exposes you to enforcement, and the historic refusal rate for such applications in Edinburgh has been very high.

For operators inside a proposed STLCA (currently Highland's two new areas), there is a window. Acting before confirmation lets you establish your position under the more favourable pre-designation rules - either by securing a CLEUD for an established use, or in some cases by lodging a planning application under the current regime.

Common misconceptions

A few patterns we see repeatedly on enquiries:

"A control area is a ban." It is not. A STLCA does not prohibit STL use. It changes the planning consent requirement. The Scottish Government has been explicit that designation should not be read as an outright ban.

"My licence covers the planning position." It does not. Licensing and planning are separate regimes administered by different parts of the council. A valid licence does not protect you from planning enforcement. Conversely, a planning consent does not satisfy your licensing obligations.

"I have been operating for years so I am fine." Possibly - but only if you can demonstrate that the use was lawful at the time it began, AND that you fall within Muirhead. Operators who have never sought a formal determination of lawfulness are often in a more fragile position than they realise.

"The control area will go away." It will not. STLCAs once confirmed remain in force indefinitely unless the council resolves to remove them (which has never happened) and Ministers approve the removal. Plan for the long term.

"I do home letting, so the rules do not apply." This is correct for the Section 26B deeming provision specifically. But home letting has its own licensing and planning considerations, and any change of operating model (e.g. moving to secondary letting because of a change of circumstance) re-opens the question.

What you should do

If you operate in, or anywhere near, an existing or proposed STLCA, the practical sequence is:

1. Establish your factual position. When did your STL use begin? Has it been continuous? What evidence do you hold to prove this (booking platform exports, statements, council tax records, photos, agent records, neighbour testimony)? 2. Get a proper view of your legal position. Were you required to have planning permission at the time the use began? Have you ever sought a determination from the council? Are you within Muirhead protection in respect of any subsequent STLCA? 3. Where the position is uncertain or vulnerable, apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness. A CLEUD confirms the legality of your existing use. Once granted, it is a durable position that survives any future control area designation. 4. Engage with consultations on proposed STLCAs. Operators and trade bodies have a legitimate role in shaping where and how control areas are designated. Submissions that include evidence of economic contribution, jobs supported, and operational realities carry weight. 5. Keep your evidence pack tidy. Even if you do not act today, having a complete and well-organised record of your operation puts you in a much stronger position whenever you do need to act.

Our perspective

STL Solutions is pro short-term let. Self-catering, holiday letting and short-stay accommodation make a material contribution to Scottish tourism, support skilled jobs across cleaning, hospitality, agency and maintenance sectors, and provide an offering that visitors actively choose. Designating ever-larger STLCAs without an equally rigorous look at the economic contribution being lost is, in our view, an incomplete piece of policy-making.

That said, the law is the law. While we engage with consultations and continue to make the operator case, we also advise clients to take a clear-eyed view of where the regulatory landscape is going and to lock in their position while they can.

How STL Solutions can help

Across all 32 Scottish councils we have:

• Reviewed hundreds of operator positions for control-area exposure
• Drafted and lodged Certificate of Lawfulness applications in confirmed and proposed STLCAs
• Represented operators at planning appeal proceedings (DPEA)
• Contributed substantively to council consultations on proposed designations
• Provided expert evidence in cases where the temporal scope of an STLCA is in dispute

If you operate in Edinburgh, in Badenoch and Strathspey, in the proposed Highland areas, or in any area where a control area is under discussion, we would encourage you to get in touch.

Book a free 15-minute consultation or start a Certificate of Lawfulness application.