Types of licences

New hosts and operators need to have a licence to operate lawfully.

You will need to apply for a short-term let (STL) licence if you want to do the following:

• secondary letting - letting of property where you do not normally live, for example a second home
• home letting - using all or part of your own home for short-term lets when you're not there (while on holiday, for example)
• home sharing - using all or part of your own home for short-term lets when you're currently living there
• home letting and home sharing - operating short-term lets from your home when you're living there or for periods when you're absent

You can apply for the following licences:

First full licence

This licence is usually granted for up to 3 years. You need one if you want to rent out all or part of the premises. The licence must be in place before you take bookings or receive guests.

Renewed full licence

This licence is usually granted for up to 3 years. You need to apply for a renewal before your previous licence expires to continue operating lawfully.

Temporary licence

This is for a trial period of 6 weeks maximum. These can be extended if a full licence application is submitted. You must request this extension. We advise customers to submit this type of application around 6 months in advance.

Temporary exemption

Applications for the 2027 Golf Open will be accepted between 15 June and 4 October 2026. You can apply for up to 3 exemptions in one 12-month period. These exemptions must not last more than 6 weeks in total.

Provisional licence (construction and completion)

This licence is usually granted for up to 3 years. You can apply for a provisional licence if you’re building new accommodation to use as a short-term let. You must apply to change this to a full licence before you can take bookings or let it out. You must wait until the full licence is granted.

You can get a paper application form by emailing shorttermlets@fife.gov.uk