The 90-Day Rule in London: What Short-Let Owners Actually Need to Know in 2026
Owner Guide · London · Short-Let Regulations 2026
The 90-Day Rule in London: What Short-Let Owners Actually Need to Know in 2026
The 90-day rule is the most important regulation affecting short-let property owners in Greater London, and it is also one of the most widely misunderstood. Most owners know the number. Fewer understand how it is counted, why Airbnb’s enforcement is not the same as legal compliance, or what the consequences of exceeding the limit actually are. This guide covers the rule precisely, without unnecessary hedging.
What the Rule Actually Says
The Deregulation Act 2015 introduced what is formally described as a “permitted development right” for short-term letting in Greater London. The effect of this right is that a residential property in London may be used as temporary sleeping accommodation (that is, short-let for guests) for up to 90 nights in any calendar year without requiring a change of use planning permission. This was a liberalisation: before the Act, any short-let use of a London residential property technically required planning permission.
The 90-night limit runs from 1 January to 31 December each year. It is not a rolling 12-month window; it resets on 1 January. A property that was let for 85 nights between October and December 2025 could, in theory, be let again from 1 January 2026 without any carryover from the previous year’s count.
The rule applies to the property, not to the individual or to any particular booking platform. It applies to the letting of “the whole of a dwelling house,” which in practice means the entire property rather than a single room. An owner who rents out rooms in a property they continue to occupy is in a different position and is not subject to the 90-day cap in the same way, though other regulations may apply to that arrangement.
Three Common Misconceptions
“Airbnb caps me at 90 nights, so I’m covered.”
Airbnb applies a 90-night cap to London entire-home listings and blocks the calendar once the threshold is reached on their platform. But the legal limit is 90 nights across every channel combined. An owner with 70 nights on Airbnb and 30 nights on Booking.com has exceeded the legal limit, regardless of what either platform shows. Platform enforcement is not the same as legal compliance.
“If I list on multiple platforms, I have 90 days on each.”
The 90-day limit is a property limit, not a per-platform limit. A property that has been short-let as a whole unit for 90 nights in 2026 has reached its permitted development threshold, regardless of how those nights were distributed across booking platforms. There is no mechanism in the legislation that multiplies the allowance by the number of platforms used.
“The council won’t know, so it doesn’t matter.”
London boroughs, particularly Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark and Tower Hamlets, have pursued enforcement action against properties operating beyond the permitted threshold. Data from booking platforms has been used in enforcement proceedings. As national short-let registration requirements come into force, the landscape for non-compliance is becoming less private, not more.
How Platforms Handle the 90-Day Limit
The major booking platforms have different approaches to the 90-day rule, and understanding the gaps between them is important for owners operating across more than one channel.
The practical implication: owners using only Airbnb are in the simplest position because the platform’s automatic cap aligns with (though is not the same as) their legal obligation. Owners using multiple platforms, or any combination of platform and direct booking, are responsible for tracking their cumulative total and stopping new bookings before the 90-night threshold is crossed.
What Happens If You Exceed 90 Days
Exceeding the 90-night threshold without planning permission is a breach of planning law. It is not a criminal offence in the conventional sense, but it is an act that exposes the owner to planning enforcement action by the relevant London borough.
- Planning contravention notice (PCN): a formal request for information from the owner about how the property is being used. Failure to respond, or providing false information, is a criminal offence.
- Enforcement notice: a legal requirement to cease the use that is in breach of planning law, within a defined time period. Non-compliance with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence and can result in prosecution and an unlimited fine.
- Stop notice: in more serious cases, the council can serve a stop notice requiring immediate cessation of the short-let use, even before an enforcement notice has been complied with.
- Legal proceedings: councils have brought cases to court and obtained injunctions and costs orders against persistent offenders. Westminster City Council in particular has pursued several significant enforcement cases in recent years.
- Data sharing: London boroughs have used booking data, neighbour complaints, and registration information in enforcement investigations. The introduction of the national short-term let registration scheme increases the data available to enforcement authorities.
Enforcement activity is not uniform across London. Some boroughs are considerably more active than others, and the likelihood of receiving a PCN or enforcement notice varies by borough and by the specific complaints profile of a property. However, the exposure is real in every London borough. The legal risk does not depend on whether enforcement happens to occur; it depends on whether the use is in breach of the law.
Strategies for Operating Within the Limit
The 90-night threshold is a genuine constraint on income from entire-home short lets in London. The following approaches are used by experienced London short-let operators to maximise value within the limit, and in some cases beyond it.
- Concentrate short-let nights during high-demand periods: 90 nights of short-let income at peak London rates (school holidays, major events, summer) is worth considerably more than 90 nights distributed evenly across the year. Price dynamically and reserve the short-let calendar for periods when the nightly rate is highest.
- Use the remaining months for mid-term or corporate letting: stays of 30 days or more are not subject to the 90-day cap under the Deregulation Act (the rule applies to “temporary sleeping accommodation,” and longer stays create different legal relationships). A property can be short-let for 90 nights in the peak season and then occupied by a corporate tenant or mid-term guest for two to three months in the off-season, generating revenue across the full year without any breach.
- Track your nights across all channels from the first booking of the year: maintain a running total of all booked nights from all sources. Do not rely on Airbnb’s counter as your only reference if you use multiple platforms. A simple spreadsheet or a channel manager with a cross-platform counter is sufficient for most properties.
- Set minimum stay lengths that compress the booking count: longer minimum stays (three nights minimum, seven nights minimum for peak dates) reduce the number of bookings required to fill 90 nights and lower the operational overhead of each booking cycle.
- Seek planning permission if the business case requires more than 90 nights: for owners whose property income plan requires year-round short-let operation, planning permission for change of use is the only legal route. The process, and the likelihood of approval, varies significantly by London borough.
Planning Permission for Short Lets Beyond 90 Days
An owner who wants to operate a property as a short let for more than 90 nights per calendar year without breaching planning law must obtain planning permission for change of use. In 2023, the UK government introduced Use Class C5 specifically for short-term let accommodation, alongside a new permitted development right allowing change of use from C5 back to C3 (residential). Change of use from C3 to C5 requires planning permission; it is not automatic.
A planning application for change of use from residential (C3) to short-term let (C5) is submitted to the relevant London borough council. The application is assessed against the borough’s local plan policies, which in most London boroughs include specific policies on the protection of residential accommodation. This means that approval is not guaranteed and in several central London boroughs it is difficult to obtain.
Westminster City Council has been among the most restrictive boroughs in this regard, applying its housing policies to resist change of use away from permanent residential occupation. Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark and Camden have also applied restrictive policies in relation to short-let planning applications. Outer London boroughs tend to be less restrictive, but each borough has its own planning policy context.
Owners considering a planning application should take professional planning advice before submitting: the application itself creates a public record of the proposed use and, if refused, creates a planning history that subsequent applications will need to address. An application that is refused is not simply neutral; it is a record of an attempted change of use that was rejected by the authority.
Some properties may also be subject to an Article 4 Direction applied by the borough, which removes the permitted development rights that would otherwise apply. Properties in an Article 4 area may require planning permission even for uses that would ordinarily benefit from permitted development. Check whether your borough has applied an Article 4 Direction to your area before assuming the 90-night permitted development right applies to your specific property.
Leasehold Properties: An Additional Layer
Planning law governs what a property may be used for; lease terms govern what the leaseholder is permitted to do with it. The two are independent, and compliance with the 90-day planning rule does not mean a short let is permitted under the lease.
Many London residential leases contain a prohibition on sub-letting, or on using the property other than as a single private residence, or on using it for business purposes. Short-letting for guests may engage any of these provisions. A lease that prohibits sub-letting without consent requires the leaseholder to obtain consent from the freeholder (or managing company) before short-letting, regardless of the planning position.
Freeholders and managing agents have become more alert to short-let use in their buildings and have taken action, including forfeiture proceedings in serious cases, where short-letting is clearly in breach of lease terms. Owners of leasehold properties should read their lease carefully and, if in any doubt, seek legal advice before listing the property on any platform.
The National Short-Term Let Registration Scheme
The UK government committed to introducing a mandatory registration scheme for short-term let properties in England. The scheme was announced as part of the government’s response to concerns about the impact of short-term letting on housing availability and local communities. Under the scheme, all short-term let properties in England would be required to register with a central database before accepting bookings.
For London short-let owners, the registration scheme adds a layer of accountability that sits alongside the existing 90-day rule. A national register of short-term let properties provides local authorities with a clearer data picture of short-let activity in their borough, making enforcement of the 90-day rule more tractable. Owners who register and operate transparently within the 90-night limit are in the strongest position; owners who have been exceeding the limit without planning permission face increased exposure as registration and data-sharing frameworks mature.
Owners should monitor the scheme’s implementation through the government’s official communications and ensure their properties are registered when the requirement comes into effect in their area. Operating without registration once registration is mandatory will itself be a breach of the scheme’s requirements.
Your 90-Day Compliance Checklist
- Track all booked nights from all sources (Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, direct bookings, all others) in a single running total from 1 January each year
- Stop accepting new short-let bookings before the total reaches 90 nights, not after
- Do not rely on Airbnb’s platform counter alone if any other booking channel is in use
- Check the lease (if leasehold) for any prohibition on sub-letting or business use before listing the property on any platform
- Check whether the borough has applied an Article 4 Direction to the property’s area, which may affect the permitted development position
- Register with the national short-term let registration scheme when required to do so
- If more than 90 nights of short-let income is required, take professional planning advice before operating beyond the threshold or submitting a planning application
- Consider a mid-term or corporate letting strategy for months outside the peak short-let window to generate off-season income without planning risk
“The 90-day limit is a property limit, not a platform limit. An owner using Airbnb, Booking.com and direct bookings simultaneously has 90 nights total in the year; not 90 on each channel, and not 90 nights until Airbnb’s counter stops them.”
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Join the CollectionFrequently Asked Questions
What is the 90-day rule for short lets in London?
The 90-day rule is a planning law provision introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015, which came into force for London in January 2017. It allows a residential property in Greater London to be used as entire-home short-term accommodation for up to 90 nights per calendar year (1 January to 31 December) without requiring planning permission for change of use. Exceeding 90 nights without planning permission is a breach of planning law. The rule applies to all 33 London boroughs and does not apply to the rest of England, where different rules govern short-term letting. It applies to the whole property being let; it does not apply to owners who rent rooms in a home they continue to occupy as their main residence.
Does Airbnb's 90-night cap mean I'm complying with London's 90-day rule?
No. Airbnb applies a 90-night cap to entire-home London listings on its own platform, blocking the calendar once 90 nights have been booked through Airbnb. However, the legal 90-day limit applies across all booking channels combined: Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, direct bookings, and any other source. If an owner has 70 nights on Airbnb and then takes 30 nights of direct bookings, they have exceeded the 90-night planning limit, even though Airbnb's own counter has not been reached. Airbnb's platform enforcement is a partial tool, not a legal compliance mechanism. Owners using multiple channels are responsible for tracking their own cumulative total across all sources.
What is the penalty for exceeding 90 days of short letting in London?
Exceeding 90 nights of entire-home short letting per year without planning permission is a breach of planning law. There is no fixed fine applied at the point of breach; instead, local authorities can take enforcement action. This includes serving a planning contravention notice requiring information about the property's use, issuing an enforcement notice requiring the unauthorised use to cease, and pursuing legal proceedings for non-compliance. Non-compliance with a planning enforcement notice is a criminal offence and can result in prosecution in the magistrates' court or Crown Court, with an unlimited fine. Active London boroughs including Westminster have pursued enforcement cases and obtained significant costs orders and injunctions against owners who persistently exceeded the limit.
Can I get planning permission to short-let my London property for more than 90 days?
Yes, planning permission can be sought for change of use from residential (Use Class C3) to short-term let use (Use Class C5, introduced in 2023). The application is made to the relevant London borough council. However, planning permission is not automatically granted: each application is assessed against the borough's local plan policies, many of which in London include provisions protecting residential housing stock from conversion to other uses. Boroughs including Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark and Camden have applied restrictive policies in this area. Owners considering a planning application should take professional planning advice before submitting, as a refused application creates a planning history that can complicate future applications for the same property.
Does the 90-day rule apply to leasehold properties in London?
The 90-day planning rule applies equally to freehold and leasehold properties. However, leasehold property owners face an additional layer of restriction: the lease itself. Many London residential leases contain clauses that prohibit sub-letting, restrict use to a single private residence, or prohibit business use. Short-letting for guests may engage any of these provisions, and a leaseholder who short-lets in breach of their lease is exposed to action by the freeholder, which can include forfeiture of the lease in serious cases. Complying with the 90-day planning rule does not mean a short let is permitted under the lease. Leasehold property owners should read their lease and, if uncertain, take legal advice before listing their property on any booking platform.
Does the 90-day rule apply to mid-term lets in London?
The 90-day rule under the Deregulation Act 2015 applies to the use of a property as "temporary sleeping accommodation," which describes the short-term lets covered by the Act. Longer stays (typically defined as stays of 90 consecutive days or more) create different legal relationships, generally a form of tenancy, which falls outside the short-term letting regime and is not subject to the 90-night planning cap. This means that a property can be short-let for up to 90 nights during the peak season and then let on a longer-term basis for a corporate or mid-term arrangement (one to three months) during the off-season, generating income across the full year without breaching the 90-day planning rule. This hybrid approach is commonly used by professional London short-let operators to optimise annual income within the planning framework.