The London 90-night rule for Airbnb: how it works and your options

If you own a flat or house in London, the 90-night rule is the first thing to understand before listing it on Airbnb.

What the rule says

Since 2015, homes in Greater London can be used for short-term lets for up to 90 nights in each calendar year without planning permission. This came from the Deregulation Act 2015, which changed older London planning law.

Go over 90 nights and the council can treat it as a change of use that needed planning permission.

Conditions:

• The property must be liable for council tax (a normal home, not a business-rated property).
• The 90 nights are counted per calendar year (1 January to 31 December).
• It covers stays of less than 90 consecutive nights.

How Airbnb enforces it

Airbnb automatically limits entire-home listings in Greater London to 90 booked nights a year, unless the host shows planning permission or another exemption. Other platforms may not cap it, but the law is the same wherever you advertise.

What doesn't count towards the 90 nights

• Stays of 90 nights or more in one go. These aren't "temporary sleeping accommodation" under the rule.
• Renting a room while you live there. The limit is aimed at whole homes let without the owner present.
• Long-term tenancies.

Legal ways to earn all year from a London property

1. Mix short and mid-term stays. Use your 90 nights for the highest-value dates, then take longer corporate, insurance, relocation or medical-staff stays the rest of the year.
2. Apply for planning permission. Some councils grant it for suitable properties, especially purpose-built serviced apartments. Others rarely do.
3. Guaranteed rent. A company rents the property from you and you get a fixed monthly payment. Make sure they have a legal plan for London too: see our guide to guaranteed rent safety checks.

Check your lease and mortgage too. Many London leasehold flats ban short lets outright, even within 90 nights.

How we manage London properties

On our London Airbnb management service, we track nights for you, price the 90 short-let nights for peak dates, and fill the rest with longer stays so the property isn't sitting empty.

Want a figure? Try the free income estimate. It is a rough guide, and in London we always build the 90-night limit into a real plan.

Outside London, there is no night cap, but a national register is coming. Read our register guide.