Scotland · Council licensing
Letting a property in Orkney Islands
Our compliance check now covers Scotland, and so does the fine calculator. Enter a Scottish postcode and both answer in Scots law, cited to Scottish instruments — the calculator with the Scottish maximum for each offence, and with the consequences that are not fines at all recorded as what they are. What is on this page is the licensing position for Orkney Islands; for the law itself, the Scotland guides are written and cited to Scottish instruments, and the free compliance check will now give you the duties for this address.
Two duties that apply whatever this council decides
These are national duties. They are not designated locally and there is no version of Orkney Islands in which they do not apply — only the fee varies.
Landlord registration
Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, Part 8 · fees prescribed by SSI 2019/160
Every private landlord must be registered with the council for the area the property is in. Letting while unregistered is an offence carrying a fine of up to £50,000, and the council may serve a rent suspension notice under section 94.
Principal fee £85 (£42.50 per authority where you apply to two or more) · per property £20 · late application £170.
- Registration lasts three years and is per local authority.
- No per-property fee is charged for a property covered by an HMO licence, or for a Scottish registered charity.
- Where several people own a property jointly, only the lead owner pays the principal fee.
- The fees rise by CPI on 1 April each year under regulation 3 of the 2019 Regulations.
This fee is set by Scottish Ministers, not by Orkney Islands. Read 16 August 2026 from the Regulations and the register.
HMO licence
Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, Part 5, section 125
A property occupied by three or more people from three or more families, sharing a toilet, washing or food preparation facilities, is a licensable HMO in Scotland. Three — not five. There is no storey requirement.
HMO licence fee: Three-year licence. For£2,025/26 the council set the HMO fee by reference to the short-term let scale — "20% below STL of nearest capacity banding" — rather than as a standalone figure. Explicit figures appear as PROPOSED for£2,026/27 in the Licensing Committee report of 5 March£2,026: £348 for capacity up to 9 occupants and £465 for capacity of 10 or more. Those two figures are recorded as proposed at the date of that report, not confirmed as adopted. Read 16 August£2,026.
Short-term let licence
Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022
Every Scottish council was required to open a short-term let licensing scheme, and a licence has been needed to operate since 1 October 2023. It is civic licensing, not housing licensing, so holding a landlord registration or an HMO licence does nothing for it.
Short-term let licence fee: UNIQUE STRUCTURE: Orkney charges different fees for the Mainland and Linked Isles than for the Ferry-linked Isles — a geographic split no other Scottish council in this dataset uses. Three-year licence, banded by capacity. Figures are "current£2,025/26" and "proposed£2,026/27" as set out in the Licensing Committee report of 5 March£2,026; the£2,026/27 column is recorded as PROPOSED, not confirmed. Secondary letting, Mainland and Linked Isles: up to 4 occupants £341 current / £354 proposed; 5–9 £418 / £434; 10 or more £561 / £583. Secondary letting, Ferry-linked Isles: £256 / £266; £314 / £326; £421 / £437. Home sharing and home letting, Mainland and Linked Isles: £264 / £275; £330 / £343; £440 / £457. Ferry-linked Isles: £198 / £206; £248 / £257; £330 / £343. Read 16 August£2,026.
Two designations that are genuinely local
Unlike the duties above, these vary council by council — a council may have one, both or neither.
Town and Country Planning (Short-term Let Control Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2021
We have not established whether this council has designated a short-term let control area. That is a gap in our records, not evidence either way — check with the council. Inside a control area, using a dwellinghouse for secondary letting is deemed a material change of use, so planning permission is required as a matter of law.
Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, Part 1
We have not established whether this council has designated a rent control area. That is a gap in our records, not evidence either way — check with the council. The framework commenced on 1 April 2026 and the first council assessments are due by 31 May 2027. No rent control area has been designated anywhere in Scotland.
Record last verified or changed 16 August 2026. Fees and designations change — confirm with the council before relying on anything here.
The Scottish law, in full
Information tool, not legal advice. Scottish law only.