Is your Scottish short-term let licence renewal due?

A full licence lasts 3 years from the date it comes into force, unless the council decides on a shorter period when it grants or renews it. Councils can set different periods for different applicants or licence types, and must state the duration and expiry date on the licence itself, so the date printed on your licence is the one that counts.

Any time before your licence expires. Some councils give a recommended lead time: Argyll and Bute recommends 2 months before expiry, and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar recommends 3 months and says the application must be complete and verified before expiry. Highland says you do not need to apply months in advance. Check your own council's page, and leave time to get any certificates up to date.

Yes, if you applied before the expiry date. Your existing licence continues to have effect until the council decides. If the council refuses, it continues until the time to appeal has passed, or until an appeal you lodge is abandoned or decided.

The Scottish Government says an application made after expiry is treated as a new application, and you cannot take bookings or guests until you hold a licence. The law lets a council, if you show good cause, treat a renewal made up to 28 days after expiry as if it was made in time, but that is the council's choice. Contact your council straight away rather than relying on it.

Yes. The 1982 Act applies the same rule to renewals as to new applications: display a notice at or near the premises for 21 days from the date you submit, where the public can read it, and then send the council a certificate saying you did. If the notice is removed or damaged through no fault of yours, you are not treated as failing, as long as you took reasonable steps to protect or replace it. If you declare that you cannot display a notice, the council must publish one in a newspaper or on a website instead.

That your details are still correct, that you are still a fit and proper person, and that the premises still meet the mandatory licence conditions and any additional conditions. Fees and additional conditions may have changed since your first licence, so check your council's current fee and policy before you apply.

It can. Scottish Government guidance says the 2022 Licensing Order lets councils renew licences for such periods as they see fit, with no time limit, but they must publish when they would set a period longer than 3 years, and the Scottish Government encourages 3 years unless there is good reason. For example, Angus Council says a renewal can last up to 6 years, while the City of Edinburgh normally renews secondary letting licences for 1 or 3 years.

Not automatically. A licence is specific to the licence holder (a person or a company) and the premises, so it cannot simply be handed over, even to someone who buys the property. If the buyer wants to keep letting, you can apply to the council to transfer the licence into their name: the council consults the Chief Constable on whether they are a fit and proper person, and there is no presumption that it will be granted. If it is, the time left on the licence carries over, so the new holder renews when your licence would have expired. Otherwise the new operator needs their own licence. Changes such as more guests, more rooms, physical alterations or a new letting agent must be notified to the council, and some need its approval first.