Highland committee to consider 1 April 2027 start for two short-term let control areas

The Highland Council will ask its Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 12 November 2026 to agree that two new short-term let control areas, covering Inverness City and Highland Rural, come into force on 1 April 2027.

The council said the recommendation follows Scottish Government Ministers' decision on 26 October 2026 to approve designation of the two areas. Members will be asked to note that decision and agree publication of a statutory notice of designation confirming the April 2027 commencement date.

According to Scottish Government planning guidance on short-term lets, Scottish Ministers' approval is required before a planning authority can designate a control area. Within a control area, a change of use of a dwellinghouse to short-term letting is deemed a material change and always requires planning permission, the guidance says.

Cllr Ken Gowans, Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, said: "Following Scottish Government approval, the Council can now move forward with implementing these STLCAs, which will help us strike a better balance between supporting tourism growth and protecting much-needed housing for local people."

The two areas

According to the council, the Inverness City control area will cover the wards of Inverness West, Inverness Central, Inverness Ness-side and Inverness Millburn, together with parts of Inverness South including Westhill, Milton of Leys and Slackbuie.

The Highland Rural area will take in Lochaber; Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh; Sutherland; Skye and Raasay; Aird and Loch Ness; and parts of Inverness South including Tomatin and Daviot.

The council said the control areas would not apply retrospectively and would not prohibit short-term letting. Any future conversion of a residential property to a secondary short-term let within the designated areas would need planning permission, while existing operators would continue under current arrangements unless planning permission would already have been required under existing legislation.

Cllr Gowans said: "The introduction of STLCAs is not about stopping short-term lets, but about ensuring the future conversion of residential homes to short-term lets are properly considered through the planning system."

Consultation and support

The council ran a six-week public consultation from 12 May to 23 June 2026, which drew more than 800 responses from residents, businesses, communities and short-term let operators.

Proposal	Support among residents and businesses
Inverness City	84%
Highland Rural	72%

The proposals and consultation feedback were then considered and recommended by the council's local area committees before the Economy and Infrastructure Committee agreed on 28 September 2026 to submit them to Scottish Ministers. At that stage the council said a further report would return to the committee once a decision was received.

Not every part of Highland is taking part. In February 2026 the council said the Caithness, Dingwall and Seaforth, Nairnshire, Black Isle and Easter Ross area committees had opted not to proceed with control areas. Cllr Gowans said at the time that the impact of short-term lets varies greatly across the Highlands.

Housing pressure

The council has set the proposals against its own housing figures. In May 2026 it said about 24,000 new homes are needed across the Highlands by 2034, and that in parts of Inverness, Portree, Dornoch and Fort William short-term lets make up more than 20% of all homes.

In Skye and Lochalsh, the council said, 13.6% of homes sold between 2019/20 and 2023/24 became short-term lets, while 9.5% of houses built in the proposed Highland Rural area within the last five years now operate as short-term lets.

Scotland's control areas

Highland already has one designated control area, in Ward 20 Badenoch and Strathspey, which the council said in May 2026 had been in place for two years. A Scottish Government mygov.scot page lists two control areas in Scotland: the entire City of Edinburgh Council area and Badenoch and Strathspey in the Highland Council area.

The Economy and Infrastructure Committee meets at 9.30am on Thursday 12 November 2026 in the Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, with the designation of the Inverness City and Highland Rural control areas listed as agenda item 6.