If you let property in Edinburgh — New Town and Old Town flats, student lets in Marchmont or Newington, or short-term lets for the Festival — and HMRC has written to you, the first thing to know is that most enquiries are settled with organised paperwork, not disaster. We help you understand exactly what HMRC is asking for, gather the records for the years in question, and prepare a clear response. HMRC’s rules on rental income apply UK-wide, Scotland included.
The local rules that catch Edinburgh landlords out
Edinburgh is the most tightly regulated short-term-let market in the UK, and that is where landlords get tangled. The whole city is a short-term-let Control Area (since September 2022): letting a whole property that is not your own home — a buy-to-let on Airbnb, say — needs planning permission as well as a licence, and around 90% of those planning applications are refused. Short-term-let licensing became compulsory for everyone from 1 January 2025; operating without one is a criminal offence, and a 5% visitor levy starts on 24 July 2026.
On top of this, Scotland’s usual rules apply: every landlord must be on the Scottish Landlord Register, HMO licensing starts at three sharers, and — crucially for tax — the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime was abolished from 6 April 2025, so a short-term let is now taxed as an ordinary property business. A landlord who has moved a flat between short-let, HMO and ordinary tenancy is juggling three council regimes with three renewal clocks — and that tangled record trail is exactly what an HMRC enquiry probes. Always check the current position with the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Landlord Register.
Areas we support
- City centre: New Town, Old Town, Stockbridge, Tollcross
- Student areas: Marchmont, Newington, Bruntsfield, Meadowbank
- Festival short-let hotspots across the centre
- Suburbs and surrounding Lothians: Leith, Portobello, Corstorphine
Why an HMRC enquiry can feel harder in Edinburgh
- Overlapping regimes — short-term-let licensing, planning control, HMO licensing and landlord registration, often on the same property over time.
- The short-term-let tax change — the end of the holiday-let regime moved many Festival and Airbnb lets onto ordinary property-business tax, a common area of confusion.
- Festival income spikes — large August earnings that must be recorded and declared correctly.
- Tenement and student portfolios — flats acquired over years, factored buildings, easy for records to fragment.
What we do for landlords under enquiry
We help you deal with the enquiry from start to finish, on your side of the table:
- Explain the HMRC letter in plain English, so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Help you gather and organise the records for each property and year — use our Seven-Part Check.
- Help you prepare your reply — our reply-letter builder writes the safe first response — and, where something was missed, a Let Property Campaign disclosure.
- Give you the figures with our penalty estimator and liability estimator.
- Explain the letter and the deadline
- Help you organise records and spot gaps
- Help you prepare your response and any disclosure
- Give you the tools to work out the figures
- Your tax agent — you sign and send
- A regulated financial or legal adviser
- Able to guarantee an HMRC outcome
- The right place for a Code of Practice 9 case — get a specialist
Common questions from Edinburgh landlords
Do you only help landlords in Edinburgh?
No. This page is for Edinburgh and Scottish landlords, but we help landlords anywhere in the UK facing an HMRC enquiry.
I run an Airbnb. What changed for tax?
Short-term lets now need a licence, and in Edinburgh a whole-property (secondary) let also needs planning permission. Separately, the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime was abolished from 6 April 2025, so the let is taxed as an ordinary UK property business. Both are the kind of change an HMRC enquiry turns on.
Are you my tax agent?
No. We help you understand the letter, get your records in order and prepare your response. You sign and send it. Nothing here is regulated financial advice.
Do you work with my existing accountant?
Yes. Often our job is to get your records and response ready so your accountant can act efficiently. You remain their client for advice.
Landlord Tax Enquiry helps landlords prepare for and respond to HMRC enquiries across the UK, Scotland included. We are not a tax agent, not a regulated financial or legal adviser, and this page is general information, not advice on your own position. Local registration, licensing and planning rules are current at the review date; always confirm with the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Landlord Register. Phone 07359 169970.