Nearly every Gulf family that keeps a London flat asks the same question in its second year: can we let it on Airbnb when we are not here? In Greater London the answer is a qualified yes for ninety nights a year, and in practice a no for most flats, because the lease, the lender and the building forbid a short let before the council is involved. The income over ninety nights rarely exceeds the cost of a breach.
Owning and letting
Short lets and Airbnb in London: the 90-night rule, the lease, and what an owner who uses the flat in summer can actually do
London short let rules: the 90-night limit explained
In Greater London a home may be short-let for up to ninety nights in a calendar year without planning permission; on the ninety-first night the use is unlawful. In practice most leasehold flats cannot: a private-residence covenant bars short lets, a lender or Sharia finance agreement forbids them, and standard landlord insurance excludes guests. Since 6 April 2025 the income is taxed exactly like a long let. The catch: a breach of the lease can end in forfeiture, and the managing agent will know within a week.
Letting a home for short stays is, in planning law, a change of use from a dwelling to temporary sleeping accommodation, and in Greater London it has needed planning permission since 1973. The Deregulation Act 2015 created an exception: a home may be used for short lets for up to ninety nights in a calendar year without permission, provided the person liable for council tax is liable for it as a home and not as a business.
What happens on the ninety-first night of short letting
The ninety nights are counted across all platforms and all guests together; on the ninety-first night the use is unlawful and the council may serve an enforcement notice, which it can then back with prosecution and a fine. Councils may also withdraw the ninety-night exception for particular properties or areas, and some have.
Short let rules outside London, including Manchester and Birmingham
Outside London there is no ninety-night limit and the position depends on the council’s view of whether the use has changed in character, which is why a Manchester or Birmingham flat is a different case from a London one.
Short lets and the private residence covenant in your lease
Most London flats are leasehold, and most residential leases contain a covenant to use the flat as a private residence only, often with an express bar on short lets, and a bar on business use. The Upper Tribunal held in 2016, in a case about a flat let through a platform for a few nights at a time, that short letting breaches an ordinary “private residence” covenant, and the courts have followed it since.
What a lease breach can cost a leasehold flat owner
A breach entitles the freeholder to injunct the letting and, in the end, to forfeit the lease, and the managing agent of a portered block will know within a week. Before anything else, read the lease; our guide on leasehold or freehold for an overseas buyer explains where to find the user covenant and what it means. A freehold house is free of this, and is the only London property where the ninety nights are a real option.
Mortgage, Sharia finance and insurance restrictions on short lets
A mortgage or a Sharia finance agreement on a buy-to-let or a home almost always forbids short lets and holiday lets without consent, and consent is rarely given on an ordinary product. A lender that discovers a flat on a platform may call in the loan. Insurance follows the same logic: a standard landlord policy excludes short-stay guests, and a claim after a guest’s fire or flood is refused. An owner who short-lets needs a specialist policy, which exists and costs more. Our guide on insurance for an overseas owner covers the empty-home and guest clauses.
How London councils enforce unlawful short letting rules
Westminster, which has more short lets than any borough, had 2,712 properties under investigation for suspected unlawful short letting in March 2026, opened nearly five hundred new cases in 2025, and served enforcement notices on a few dozen; Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Tower Hamlets run similar teams. The difficulty for the councils is evidence of the nightly count, which is why enforcement has been slow and why the registration scheme described below matters. The practical risk to an overseas owner is not the fine but the notice: once served, it ends the use, and it sits on the local land charges register for the next buyer’s solicitor to find.
Short-term let registration scheme: what it means for owners
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provides for a national registration scheme for short-term lets in England, under which every property let for short stays must be registered before it can be advertised. The regulations that will bring it into force were still being prepared in 2026 and the government has said a start date will be announced; it is not yet live. When it is, the platforms will be required to list only registered properties, and the councils will have the nightly data they lack today. An owner planning around the ninety nights should expect to register, to pay a fee, and to be counted.
Tax on short let income for non-resident landlords
Income from short lets is rental income taxable in the UK, and for a landlord living abroad it falls under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme like any other rent, so the agent or the platform’s UK arm deducts basic-rate tax unless HMRC has approved gross payment; our guide on tax on rent for overseas landlords explains the scheme.
Holiday-let relief, council tax and business rates
The favourable furnished holiday lettings regime, which allowed full mortgage interest relief and capital allowances, was abolished from 6 April 2025; a short let is now taxed exactly as a long one. Council tax continues on a home used for short lets, with the second-home premium our guide on council tax on a London second home describes, and business rates apply only if the property is available for short lets 140 days a year and actually let for 70, which is above the London limit.
What a London owner should do about short letting
For a leasehold flat in a block with a porter: do not. The lease, the lender and the managing agent will see to it, and the income over ninety nights rarely exceeds the cost of a breach. For a freehold house in a quiet street: the ninety nights are lawful, but need a specialist insurer, a professional manager, a registration when the scheme arrives, and neighbours who will tolerate it; the income on a Kensington house for ninety summer nights can be substantial, and so can the wear.
The better answer for most families
For most families the better answer is a full tenancy and a hotel in summer, or a company let to an employer for its staff, which is outside the assured-tenancy regime and can carry a fixed term, as our guide on the Renters’ Rights Act for overseas landlords explains. A short let through a platform does not make the flat anyone’s main residence, so it does not remove the council tax premium either.
Sources: Deregulation Act 2015, section 44 (legislation.gov.uk) · Short-term lets registration scheme (GOV.UK consultation response) · Abolition of the furnished holiday lettings regime (GOV.UK) · Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (GOV.UK). Checked against the Deregulation Act 2015, the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 and HMRC guidance. The registration scheme’s start date and any borough-level withdrawal of the ninety-night exception may change. General information, not legal or tax advice; the reader’s solicitor decides. Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about short lets and Airbnb in London
Three months is about ninety nights, so the planning limit may just be met in a calendar year; the lease and the lender are the real obstacles, and most leases prohibit it outright.
No. The ninety-night rule is specific to Greater London. Elsewhere the council decides case by case whether short letting has changed the use, and most do not act unless there is nuisance.
The use is unlawful and the council can serve an enforcement notice requiring it to stop, and prosecute if it does not; the notice is registered against the property. A retrospective planning application is possible but rarely granted in the central boroughs.
Almost certainly not. Most residential leases contain a covenant to use the flat as a private residence only, often with an express bar on short lets, and the Upper Tribunal held in 2016 that short letting breaches an ordinary private-residence covenant. A breach entitles the freeholder to injunct the letting and, in the end, to forfeit the lease. Read the lease before anything else.
A mortgage or Sharia finance agreement almost always forbids short lets and holiday lets without consent, which is rarely given on an ordinary product, and a lender that finds the flat on a platform may call in the loan. A standard landlord policy excludes short-stay guests, so a claim after a guest’s fire or flood is refused; a specialist policy exists and costs more.
Westminster had 2,712 properties under investigation for suspected unlawful short letting in March 2026, opened nearly five hundred new cases in 2025 and served enforcement notices on a few dozen; Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Tower Hamlets run similar teams. Enforcement has been slow because the councils lack evidence of the nightly count. The notice, not the fine, is the real risk: it sits on the local land charges register.
No. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provides for a national registration scheme under which every property let for short stays must be registered before it can be advertised, but the regulations were still being prepared in 2026 and a start date is to be announced. When it starts, platforms will list only registered properties and the councils will have the nightly data they lack today.
As rental income under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, so the agent or the platform’s UK arm deducts basic-rate tax unless HMRC has approved gross payment. The furnished holiday lettings regime, with full mortgage interest relief and capital allowances, was abolished from 6 April 2025, so a short let is now taxed exactly as a long one. Our guide on tax on rent for overseas landlords explains the scheme.
No. Business rates apply only if the property is available for short lets 140 days a year and actually let for 70, which is above the London limit. Council tax continues, with the second-home premium, because a short let through a platform does not make the flat anyone’s main residence.
For most families the better answer is a full tenancy and a hotel in summer, or a company let to an employer for its staff, which is outside the assured-tenancy regime and can carry a fixed term. For a leasehold flat in a portered block the firm’s advice on short lets is simply: do not.
