The City of Edinburgh Council has voted to make it easier and less expensive for Edinburgh residents to rent their spare rooms during high-demand periods. The rules will be implemented in time for the Fringe this summer.
Rising accommodation costs during festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe in August have been partially attributed to the short-term let licensing regulations, which may discourage residents from renting their spare rooms.
The new rules, voted on by councillors on 31 January, will ease regulations that residents currently face when subletting all or part of their primary residence during busy periods.
Under the new rules, residents will no longer be required to conduct electrical safety inspections or legionella testing. They also will not need to provide renters copies of electrical, fire, or gas safety certificates.
For residents renting out part of their home while still living there, licence application fees will be reduced to a flat rate of £120. The fees were previously a minimum of £250, going up to £350 for more than five total occupants and £600 for more than eleven.
Although a record 2.6 million tickets were sold during the 2024 Fringe, the rising cost of temporary accommodation remains an obstacle to Fringe performers, staff, and visitors.
One student told us: “I was flat-hunting for a few weeks before the Fringe and found the process really difficult. In almost every listing I came across, a week’s rent was basically equivalent to a whole month’s rent during the rest of the year.”
The new rules are intended to encourage more residents to rent their spare rooms, providing more cost-effective options for Fringe attendees and helping locals earn extra money.
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