UK Short-Term Let Rules 2027: Visitor Levies, Registers, Licensing

As of October 2026, the UK has no single short-term let law: each nation sets its own rules. In Scotland, every short-term let needs a council licence, and Edinburgh’s 5% visitor levy has applied to stays since 24 July 2026, with Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire following in 2027. In Wales, every visitor accommodation provider must register with the Welsh Revenue Authority by 31 March 2027, and Cardiff charges £1.30 per person per night from 1 April 2027. In England, the national register is not live yet (expected March 2027) and a visitor levy is planned but still needs a law.

Wherever a levy applies, the law makes the accommodation provider responsible for it, not the booking platform.

What changes for UK short-term lets in 2027?

• In force now: Scottish licensing, the Edinburgh levy, the Welsh register (open since 1 October 2026), London’s 90-night rule, Tourism NI certification.
• Booking windows already open: a booking taken today for a stay after a start date can already carry the levy in Glasgow (bookings from 1 April 2026), Aberdeen and West Dunbartonshire (from 1 October 2026) and Cardiff (from 28 September 2026).
• Dates in 2027: Glasgow 25 January, Welsh registration deadline 31 March, Aberdeen and Cardiff 1 April, Stirling 14 June, West Dunbartonshire 1 July. England’s register is expected in March.
• Still proposals: England’s visitor levy, an English planning use class for short-term lets, Welsh licensing (expected from 2029) and levies under consultation in several Scottish councils.

Do you need a licence for a short-term let in Scotland?

Yes. Scotland’s licensing scheme opened on 1 October 2022: new hosts need a licence before taking bookings, and hosts already operating had until 1 October 2023 to apply. It covers a room in your home, your home while you are away and second properties. Operating without a licence can lead to a fine of up to £2,500.

Every listing or advert must show your licence number and, where the property needs an Energy Performance Certificate, its EPC rating. The whole City of Edinburgh and Badenoch and Strathspey in the Highlands are also control areas, where a new secondary let will very likely need planning permission on top of the licence.

How does the Edinburgh visitor levy work?

• Rate: 5% of the cost of the overnight accommodation, calculated before VAT and excluding extras such as parking, meals or transport.
• Cap: charged on the first 5 nights of a stay only.
• Start: stays from 24 July 2026, every day of the year. Stays booked and paid for, in part or in full, before 1 October 2025 are exempt.
• Scope: hotels, B&Bs, hostels, self-catering, short-term lets (home sharing, home letting and secondary homes) and campsites. Businesses below the VAT threshold are liable too.

Source: City of Edinburgh Council, About the Edinburgh Visitor Levy. Some guests are exempt; the council’s visitor page lists who.

Who collects the levy: you or Airbnb?

You. Under section 8 of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, the liable person is whoever provides the accommodation and occupies the premises: the host or operator. Section 9 lets a platform or agent collect, file or pay on your behalf, but your obligations stay the same. Returns and payments go through the national portal at visitorlevy.scot, so check that any platform’s figures match what you declare.

Which other Scottish councils are introducing a visitor levy?

Four more schemes are approved (VisitScotland’s council list, updated 9 September 2026, and Glasgow City Council):

• Glasgow: 5% of the accommodation price net of VAT, for the whole stay (no night cap), from 25 January 2027. Bookings made on or after 1 April 2026 for stays from that date are liable. Providers keep 1.5% of what they collect to cover their costs.
• Aberdeen: 7% from 1 April 2027, on bookings made from 1 October 2026.
• Stirling: 3% from 14 June 2027, on bookings made from 1 January 2027.
• West Dunbartonshire: 5% from 1 July 2027, on bookings made and paid from 1 October 2026.

Highland, Dundee, Falkirk and Perth and Kinross are consulting until November 2026, and eight other councils are in early discussions. Councils may now charge a fixed amount per room per night instead of a percentage, which is the basis of Highland’s draft. No rate is final until a council approves its scheme: the VisitScotland visitor levy page tracks every council.

What do hosts in Wales have to do before 31 March 2027?

Register. The register created by the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 opened on 1 October 2026. You must register by 31 March 2027 if you take bookings of 31 nights or less for overnight stays in Wales and own or rent the accommodation. That covers an occasional spare room as much as a year-round holiday let, even where the council never introduces a levy. It is free, some details are public, and you register on gov.wales (public beta). Late registration can lead to penalties.

Visitor levy. Each council decides whether to charge it, after consulting locally and announcing it a year ahead, with a start on 1 April or 1 October. The rates are set nationally:

• £1.30 per person per night for most accommodation, holiday lets and spare rooms included.
• 75p per person per night for shared rooms in hostels and bunkhouses and for tent pitches; under-18s do not pay this lower rate.

As of October 2026, Cardiff is the only council on the Welsh Government’s list: its levy applies to stays from 1 April 2027, and providers must account for it on bookings taken from 28 September 2026. The list shows no other council charging or consulting. The provider pays the levy to the Welsh Revenue Authority and may absorb it or pass it on to guests.

Licensing, later. The Development of Tourism and Regulation of Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Act 2026 (Royal Assent on 27 April 2026) creates a licensing scheme for visitor accommodation. It is not in force: the Welsh Government’s working assumption is a start from 2029, after further consultation and regulations.

Is there a short-term let register in England yet?

No. The government’s guidance for self-catering hosts, updated on 2 October 2026, lists the mandatory national registration scheme as not yet in force and expected to begin in March 2027. On 3 September 2026, the Culture Secretary told the Commons the register “will be up and running in full by March”. What you must declare, any fee and whether occasional hosts are exempt have not been published, so there is nothing to sign up for today. Our guide to registering a vacation rental in France, Italy, Spain and the UK compares the schemes. Also in England:

• London’s 90-night rule. Since 2015, letting a London home as temporary sleeping accommodation needs no planning permission if it totals no more than 90 nights in a calendar year and the person providing it is liable for council tax on it. Beyond that, you need permission from the borough.
• A planning use class for short-term lets was proposed in a 2023 consultation that still shows no outcome, and England’s Use Classes Order has no such class. Outside London, your local planning authority decides whether your use needs permission. Wales created use classes for second homes and short-term lets in 2022, which councils can apply in designated areas.

Will England have a visitor levy?

It is planned, but no English area can charge one until Parliament passes a law. The government’s response to the consultation, published on 10 September 2026, sets the framework:

• mayors and leaders of strategic authorities will be able to introduce a levy after local consultation;
• it will be a percentage of the accommodation cost, with no national cap planned and no cap on nights;
• short-term lets are in scope, with a threshold to exempt occasional, informal providers;
• the accommodation provider will be liable, through self-assessment.

The government plans to legislate in the current parliamentary session and expects local leaders to set out their plans by March 2028. No English rate or start date exists yet.

What about Northern Ireland?

Under the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, all tourist accommodation must hold a Tourism NI certificate before it operates. Offering accommodation without one is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to £2,500, up to six months’ imprisonment, or both. Certified premises are inspected every four years.

What happened to the furnished holiday lettings tax regime?

It no longer exists. The furnished holiday lettings (FHL) regime was abolished on 6 April 2025 for income tax and capital gains tax, and on 1 April 2025 for corporation tax. From the 2025-26 tax year, holiday let income is taxed under the usual residential landlord rules and the former FHL reliefs (on mortgage interest, furnishings and sales) no longer apply. See the GOV.UK page for self-catering holiday homes in England, our guide to Airbnb taxes for the general logic, and an accountant for your own figures.

How to add a UK visitor levy to direct bookings with Nowistay

Airbnb and Booking.com handle levies in their own way, so check what each platform does for your area. For bookings on your own website, Nowistay’s direct booking module adds the levy per property: in Integrations, open Direct Booking, select the property, click Taxes, then Add tax, with the category City tax.

• Edinburgh: Percentage (%) 5, applies Per night, Max. taxed nights 5.
• Glasgow: Percentage (%) 5, applies Per night, no night limit.
• Cardiff: Fixed amount 1.30, applies Per guest per night. Leave Children exempt off: the Welsh under-18 exemption only covers the 75p rate.

The levy is added to the price in your booking widget, recorded on the booking as its tourist tax and printed as a separate line on the guest invoice, outside the VAT base. A percentage is calculated on the nightly rates after any discount, without the cleaning fee, so check what your council includes in the levy base. Registering, filing returns and paying the council or the Welsh Revenue Authority stay with you. Step by step: How to add a direct booking widget to your website. See also how to collect and automate tourist tax and the complete guide to direct bookings.

Checklist for UK hosts before 2027

1. Scotland: show your licence number, and EPC rating where required, on every listing.
2. Levy councils: apply the levy to bookings already taken for stays after the start date, and tell guests when they book.
3. Wales: register before 31 March 2027; in Cardiff, charge £1.30 per person per night from 1 April 2027.
4. England: watch for the register in March 2027, and keep London lets under 90 nights a year without planning permission.
5. Northern Ireland: hold a valid Tourism NI certificate.
6. Everywhere: review your tax position now that the FHL regime is gone.

This article summarises official sources as of October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice: rates and dates change when councils approve or amend their schemes.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a tourist tax in the UK?

Yes, locally. In Scotland, Edinburgh's 5% visitor levy has applied since 24 July 2026 on the first 5 nights, and Glasgow (5%, 25 January 2027), Aberdeen (7%, 1 April 2027), Stirling (3%, 14 June 2027) and West Dunbartonshire (5%, 1 July 2027) follow. In Wales, Cardiff charges £1.30 per person per night from 1 April 2027. England has no visitor levy yet: the government plans one but must first pass a law.

When does the Glasgow visitor levy start?

On 25 January 2027. It is 5% of the accommodation price net of VAT, for the whole stay with no night cap, and it applies to bookings made on or after 1 April 2026 for stays from that date. Providers keep 1.5% of what they collect to cover their costs.

Who pays the visitor levy, the host or Airbnb?

The accommodation provider. Under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, the liable person is whoever provides the accommodation and occupies the premises; a platform or agent can collect and pay on your behalf, but your obligations do not change. In Wales, providers pay the levy to the Welsh Revenue Authority, and England's planned levy also makes providers liable.

Do I need to register my holiday let in Wales?

Yes, by 31 March 2027, if you take bookings for overnight stays of 31 nights or less in Wales and you own or rent the accommodation. Registration with the Welsh Revenue Authority opened on 1 October 2026, is free, and is required even if your council does not introduce a visitor levy.

When will England's short-term let register start?

It is not in force. The government's guidance, updated on 2 October 2026, says it is expected to begin in March 2027, and the Culture Secretary told Parliament on 3 September 2026 that it will be up and running in full by March. What hosts will have to declare and whether there will be a fee have not been published yet.

Does the 90-night rule apply outside London?

No. The 90-night limit comes from London's own planning law: a London home can be let as temporary sleeping accommodation for up to 90 nights per calendar year without planning permission, provided the person letting it is liable for council tax. Outside London, your local planning authority decides whether your use needs permission.

Was the furnished holiday lettings regime abolished?

Yes. The FHL tax regime ended on 6 April 2025 for income tax and capital gains tax and on 1 April 2025 for corporation tax. From the 2025-26 tax year, holiday let income is taxed under the usual residential landlord rules and the former FHL reliefs no longer apply.