This note is intended to provide guidance on the considerations required in determining whether planning permission is required for short-term let accommodation.
Definition of a short-term let
A short-term let is accommodation offered for a short period of time to one or more guests. The accommodation is not the main residence of the guest(s). The accommodation can be any building or structure and may be rooms within a home or the whole house.
Short-term lets do not include licensed accommodation under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005; mobile accommodation, which is capable of transporting guests at the time of their stay; and hotels.
There are four types of short-term let as follows:
- “home sharing” means using all or part of your own home for short-term lets whilst you are there
- “home letting” means using all or part of your own home for short-term lets whilst you are absent, for example whilst you are on holiday
- “secondary letting” means the letting of property where you do not normally live, for example a second home
- “home letting and home sharing” means you operate short-term lets from your own home while you are living there and also for periods when you are absent
Changing the use of a dwellinghouse to a short-term let
Houses (but not flats) fall within Class 9 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997. Class 9 includes use as:
(a) a house, other than a flat, whether or not as a sole or main residence, by:
(i) a single person or by people living together as a family, or
(ii) not more than 5 residents living together including a household where care is provided for residents;
(b) a bed and breakfast establishment or guesthouse, where at any one time not more than 2 bedrooms are, or in the case of premises having less than 4 bedrooms 1 bedroom is, used for that purpose.
Flats are sui generis (they do not fall within any Class). It would normally be the case that changing from one class to another or to or from a sui generis use would be a material change of use requiring planning permission.
Short-term lets may be sui generis and therefore changing the use of a house or flat to a short-term let may require planning permission if the change of use is considered to be material.
The Planning Authority will consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether proposals represent a material change of use and therefore require planning permission.
Planning permission
Factors which are likely to mean that planning permission is required for the change of use of a dwellinghouse to a short-term let:
- if the property is a flat
- if guests have access to communal areas (such as gardens, stairwells, accesses)
- the capacity of the short-term let where the short-term let caters for larger numbers of guests, potentially from multiple household groups, where the nature of the use may therefore change
- changing of public rooms into additional accommodation or
- provision of outdoor living areas (for example hot tub, external bar) within a built-up area
This list is not definitive and each case should always be considered on its own merits but these are some of the considerations that will be most relevant. Other considerations will be the duration of the use as a short-term let in any calendar year, the location (whether rural or urban) and the likely impact on local amenity.
Although to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, it is considered that a detached house in a rural area, used on a single household basis as a short-term let is less likely to represent a material change of use than the use of a flat in a multiple unit building in an urban area, for example. Given the way legislation has developed around short-term lets, it is not possible to generally conclude that the use of houses as short-term lets will not be material and the use of flats will be material, but in general this is expected to be the prevalent outcome if single household occupancy levels are maintained.
We would advise operators to contact the Planning Authority at submittoplanning@east-ayrshire.gov.uk for advice on whether planning permission may or may not be required.
Applying for planning permission
If it is considered that a material change of use has occurred that needs planning permission or the proposed use requires planning permission, then the operator should apply for planning permission.
Operators can seek pre-application advice from the Planning Authority if they would like further information on the relevant policies and considerations and if the proposal is likely to be supported.
Confirmation that planning permission is not required for a change of use
If a short-term let operator considers that planning permission is not required and would like written confirmation of that, they should apply for a Certificate of Lawful Use under Section 150 or 151 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.
If the operator is confident that the property has been in use as a short-term let for more than 10 years they should apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness for the existing use under Section 150 of the Act. If the short-term let is a proposed use or has been operating less than 10 years, they should apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness for the proposed use under Section 151 or, where the Planning Authority considers that a material change of use has occurred, they should apply for planning permission.
The onus of proof in an application is with the applicant. For a Certificate of Lawful Use for an existing use, it is the applicant’s responsibility to provide sufficient evidence in order to demonstrate that:
a) the change of use occurred more than 10 years prior to your application
b) the use has continued without interruption for at least 10 years
c) the use has not increased or intensified during those 10 years and
d) no formal enforcement action has been taken in respect of the use
Further Information
Further information on the need for planning permission and the considerations which will be taken into account in an application for planning permission is available on Scottish Government: short-term lets planning guidance for hosts and operators.