Running short lets in the Scottish Highlands, from Inverness to Skye
At the end of 2025 the Highland Council area held 8,284 short-term let licences, more than any other council in Scotland and about a quarter of the national total. In parts of Inverness and Portree short lets are already more than one home in five, and the council has asked whether new ones there should need planning permission. Upbridge's AI operations assistant, Cleo, works over WhatsApp with vacation rental operators and cleaning companies and organizes the cleanings and the inventory for each place.
Licences, control areas and the levy in Highland
Scotland licenses short lets nationally and lets each council add a control area and a visitor levy. Here's where Highland stood when we checked on 24 October 2026.
| Topic | What it says | Status | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | You need a short-term let licence from the council before you take a booking or a guest arrives. Operating unlicensed is a crime, and mygov.scot lists fines of up to £2,500 and a year's ban on applying again. A licence normally runs for three years. | In force | Page updated 9 October 2025 | mygov.scot |
| Licences in Highland | The Scottish Government counted 8,284 licences in operation in Highland on 31 December 2025, out of 32,317 in Scotland. No other council had as many. | In force | 31 December 2025 | Scottish Government |
| Two new control areas | Highland Council consulted from 12 May to 23 June 2026 on one control area for Inverness City and one for the rural Highlands, which takes in Skye and Raasay, Lochaber, Sutherland and Wester Ross. Inside them, turning a home the owner doesn't live in into a short let would always need planning permission. They wouldn't ban short lets or touch second homes or purpose-built holiday accommodation, and Scottish Ministers have to approve them first. | Bill, not law | Consultation 12 May to 23 June 2026 | Scottish Housing News, Highland Council |
| Second homes | Highland Council's premium on second homes rises to 200% in 2026/27, so the owner pays three times the standard council tax. Since 1 April 2026 Scottish councils have been free to set the premium above or below the national default of 100%. | In force | 2026/27 | SPICe |
| Visitor levy | VisitScotland lists Highland Council as consulting on a levy from 7 September to 30 November 2026. It isn't among the approved schemes, which include Edinburgh at 5% from 24 July 2026 and Aberdeen at 7% from 1 April 2027. | Bill, not law | Consultation to 30 November 2026 | VisitScotland |
The council's figures explain why it wants the control areas. In Skye and Lochalsh, 13.6% of the homes sold between 2019/20 and 2023/24 became short lets, and across the proposed rural area 9.5% of houses built in the last five years are now let short-term. Its convener, Councillor Bill Lobban, said the plan is not a ban.
Treat this as a summary of public sources, not legal advice. Upbridge won't apply for your licence, deal with planning or answer a levy consultation on your behalf.
Distance is the hard part
Inverness Airport handled 824,046 passengers in 2025. It's about 8 miles north-east of the city, Stagecoach runs buses into the centre, and since February 2023 it has had its own station on the Aberdeen to Inverness line.
From there to Portree is a long drive over the Skye Bridge, and a cleaner who works both the city and the island can't do both in a day. Each property needs its own local person or a run planned days ahead, and a missing duvet cover is not something anyone can drop round at short notice.
Where Upbridge fits in the Highlands
Bookings arrive in Upbridge from Uplisting, Hostaway, Guesty or Lodgify, or through iCal, and it turns each checkout into a cleaning with the property's room-by-room photo checklist. Sitting in Inverness, you can see from your phone whether the cottage in Portree has been turned around.
The guest guide takes someone from the airport bus or the station to a croft house with no street number, with the photos they'll need. Inventory per property counts down what every stay uses, so the next run to Skye takes the right linen and supplies.
If you run a cleaning company in the Highlands
Your clients may be an hour or two apart. Seeing all the owners' bookings side by side in a cleaning-company account lets you group the jobs on Skye into one trip and keep the Inverness flats on separate days, and each client remains yours.
Questions about short lets in the Scottish Highlands
Do I need a licence for a holiday let in the Highlands?
Yes. A Highland cottage or flat has to be licensed by the council before its first booking, and unlicensed letting can cost up to £2,500 in fines.
Is Skye becoming a short-term let control area?
It's proposed. Highland Council consulted in May and June 2026 on a rural control area that includes Skye and Raasay, and Scottish Ministers would have to approve it.
Is there a visitor levy in the Highlands?
Not yet. VisitScotland lists Highland Council as consulting on one until 30 November 2026.
Sources
Checked on 24 October 2026
- Scottish Housing News, “Views sought on proposals to introduce Short Term Let Control Areas in Highland”, 12 May 2026.
- Highland Council, “Highland Council to progress consultation on two proposed Short Term Let Control Areas”, 13 February 2026.
- Scottish Government, “Short-term lets licensing statistics, Scotland, to 31 December 2025”, licences in operation by local area, 28 April 2026.
- mygov.scot, “Short-term let licences”, updated 9 October 2025.
- VisitScotland, visitor levy schemes, updated 9 September 2026.
- SPICe Spotlight, Scottish Parliament Information Centre, on the new council tax powers for empty and second homes, 24 March 2026, updated 19 May 2026.
- Wikipedia, “Inverness Airport”, read 24 October 2026.