Online Airbnb Course UK — Free, Self-Paced and Built Around UK Rules
Last updated: April 2026
A free online Airbnb course for the UK — covering the legal, tax and operational realities most US-focused courses skip.
Eleven modules of structured video training, around six hours total, with London's 90-night rule, Scotland's licensing scheme, council tax versus business rates, and the FHL tax changes built into the curriculum rather than bolted on.
This page is the UK-specific framing of Stayful's Free Airbnb Academy — the same training, made findable for people searching specifically for UK or online course terms.
It's for anyone running an Airbnb in the UK or planning to — based anywhere in the country, working through it at their own pace, online.
Stayful's online Airbnb course is a free 11-module video programme designed specifically for UK operators — covering the legal, tax and operational rules that apply here.
Six hours of training, real working templates and contracts, an active UK host community, with London's 90-night rule and Scotland's licensing scheme covered explicitly.
Self-paced, online, accessible from anywhere in the UK with an email address.
Zac Harrison
Co-founder · Lead trainer
Started in 2019 at 21 with limited capital. Scaled to a 30+ property R2R portfolio across the UK alongside an Airbnb-focused interior design business.
Martyn Butler
Co-founder · Stayful CEO
Started in 2020 without traditional buy-to-let capital. Built through R2R, then founded Stayful — a UK-wide management company with 70+ properties.
Why a UK-specific Airbnb course matters — the rules that don't translate
Most popular Airbnb training online is American.
The general operational principles transfer fine — pricing, communication, reviews — but the legal, tax and council framework underneath is fundamentally different in the UK and ignoring those differences is what gets new operators into trouble.
The course covers each of the UK-specific rules below in the modules where they actually apply — not in a separate "UK section" tacked on at the end.
Entire-home short lets in Greater London are capped at 90 nights per calendar year unless you have planning permission for short-let use.
Most London operators work around this with a combination of mid-term lets, a property structure (e.g. an HMO converted to multi-unit short lets where each unit has separate planning), or by securing the planning consent itself.
Covered in Module 7 (contracts) and Module 4 (deal analysis).
Since October 2023, every short-term let in Scotland needs a licence from the relevant local authority — secondary letting, home letting, home sharing or home letting and sharing all require their own licence type.
Edinburgh additionally treats secondary lets as needing planning permission for change of use.
Covered in Module 4 (property selection) and Module 7 (contracts).
A statutory registration scheme for visitor accommodation is being introduced in Wales — the course covers the current state of play and what registration is likely to require.
Welsh tourism levy proposals are also covered as part of the deal-analysis module.
The 140-day rule (England) and 70-day rule (Wales) determine whether the property is on council tax or business rates — and Small Business Rate Relief can take rates to zero on properties below the threshold.
Covered in Module 4 (deal analysis) and Module 8 (property setup).
The Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime was abolished in April 2025 — mortgage interest relief is now capped at 20% credit, capital allowances are no longer available on new purchases, and CGT on sale is now 24%.
Covered in Module 6 (raising finance) and the recommended-resources section of Module 11.
Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances — the course covers the principles, but the right answer for your specific setup needs a qualified accountant.
What "online and self-paced" actually means in practice
The course is fully online — no live classroom, no fixed start date, no scheduled cohort.
You sign up, get access immediately, and work through the material whenever and wherever suits you.
- Accessible from anywhere in the UK — desktop, laptop, tablet or phone, on any internet connection
- No fixed schedule — start today, pause for two weeks, pick up where you left off
- Modules sized for evenings and weekends — typical module is 30 minutes, individual lessons are 3 to 8 minutes
- Most trainees complete in 1 to 3 weeks — spread across roughly 6 hours of total video content
- No quizzes, no completion timer, no deadlines — it's a video library, not a structured intake
- Progress is yours forever — log back in any time, the material doesn't expire
- The community runs on Facebook — accessible from anywhere with the standard Facebook app
- Templates and contracts download as files — keep them locally, edit them in Word, Excel or Google Docs
The 11 modules — at a glance
The course front-loads the foundational material so it doesn't slow operators with prior experience.
The UK-specific legal and tax content is woven through wherever it naturally applies, not separated out.
The trainers behind the course — UK operators, still operating
Most online Airbnb training is sold by full-time course creators who hosted a property at some point.
The trainers on this course are still running the businesses they teach.
Zac Harrison
Co-founder · Lead trainer
Zac started his Airbnb journey in late 2019 at 21, with limited capital and no property of his own.
By 2022 he had built a portfolio of 30+ rent-to-rent Airbnb properties across the UK, alongside an interior design business specifically focused on setting up short-let properties for other operators.
He leads the curriculum and runs the deal-review sessions for paid Mastery Academy members.
Martyn Butler
Co-founder · Stayful CEO
Martyn started in 2020 with the ambition to get into property without the deposits required for traditional buy-to-let.
He moved through the rent-to-rent model, then self-managed his properties for several years before founding Stayful as a management business.
Stayful now manages 70+ properties across the UK on behalf of landlords.
Free vs paid Mastery Academy — what each tier gives you
The free tier is the full UK course at no cost.
The paid Mastery Academy adds live coaching and a private operator network for operators acquiring properties actively.
| What you get | Free Course | Mastery Academy (paid) |
|---|---|---|
| Full 11-module video library | Included | Included |
| UK-specific legal and tax content | Included | Included |
| Working templates and UK contracts | Included | Included |
| UK host community access | Included | Included |
| Weekly mastermind webinars | — | Included |
| Direct deal-review with founders | — | Included |
| Private operator WhatsApp network | — | Included |
| Exclusive R2R lead access | — | Included |
| Cost | £0 — no card | £29.99/month or £299.99/year |
How this differs from typical online Airbnb courses
The honest comparison below is on the things that matter most to a UK-based operator.
| What matters to a UK operator | Stayful Free Course UK | Typical US-based course | UK CPD-accredited course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, no card | £100 – £500+ | £25 – £200+ |
| UK 90-night rule covered | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Scotland licensing covered | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| UK council tax / business rates | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| FHL tax changes (April 2025) | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| UK contracts and templates | Yes | No | Rarely |
| UK supplier and software shortlist | Yes | Rarely | Rarely |
| UK operator community | Yes | No | No |
| Formal CPD certificate | No | No | Yes |
The honest summary: if a CPD-accredited certificate is the priority, a paid CPD-accredited UK course is the better fit.
If applying the training to a real UK Airbnb business is the priority — including the legal and tax framework that actually applies here — this free course gives you the curriculum, the UK-specific content, the templates and the community at no cost.
Who this UK course is for — and who it isn't
You're operating or planning to operate an Airbnb in the UK and want training that reflects UK rules, not American assumptions.
You're based anywhere in the UK and want to learn online at your own pace.
You want UK-specific contracts, templates and supplier recommendations rather than generic ones.
You're comfortable starting in the free tier and only paying once there's a clear reason to.
You own a property and want a hands-off arrangement — Stayful's management service covers that.
You're operating outside the UK — most of the legal and tax content won't apply.
You need a formally CPD-accredited certificate — this course isn't accredited.
You want in-person classroom training — the course is video-only and online.
Common questions about the UK Airbnb course
It's genuinely free.
You sign up with an email address — no card required, no countdown timer, no auto-billing.
The free tier gives you the full 11-module video library and all the templates.
The paid Mastery Academy adds live coaching and operator network access — but the free tier is a complete UK course on its own.
Yes.
The 90-night cap on entire-home short lets in Greater London is covered in Module 7 (contracts) and referenced in Module 4 (deal analysis) so it's factored into the numbers from the start.
The course covers the operational workarounds operators use — mid-term lets to fill non-eligible nights, planning permission for short-let use, and structures using HMOs converted into individually-permitted units.
Yes.
Scotland's mandatory licensing scheme applies to all short-term lets and the course explains the four licence categories — secondary letting, home letting, home sharing, and home letting and sharing — and which one applies in different scenarios.
Edinburgh's separate planning permission requirement for secondary lets is covered in the property selection module.
Yes — the course is fully online and accessible from anywhere in the UK with an internet connection.
There's no in-person component, no scheduled live classes, and no physical classroom location.
You log in from desktop, laptop, tablet or phone, work through the lessons whenever suits you, and pause and resume as often as you need.
The course covers the principles of the April 2025 changes — mortgage interest now capped at 20% credit, no more capital allowances on new purchases, CGT at 24%, and FHL income now treated as standard property income under Self Assessment.
It deliberately stops short of giving specific tax advice for your individual situation — that needs a qualified accountant who knows your numbers.
The course points you to the specific questions to ask your accountant rather than trying to replace them.
This course is online only — there's no classroom-based component.
A small number of UK property training organisations run weekend in-person events covering Airbnb-related material, typically priced between £100 and £500 per session.
For most operators, the trade-off favours online: lower cost, self-paced, and accessible from anywhere — and the operator community on Facebook handles the peer-to-peer side that in-person events traditionally provided.
The templates and contracts are UK-specific and built around English law for properties in England and Wales.
For Scottish properties, the company let agreement principles transfer but specific Scottish legal differences — including licensing requirements — should be confirmed with a Scottish solicitor.
The templates are working artefacts rather than legally-vetted contracts for every individual situation; use them as a starting point and have any contract you actually intend to sign reviewed by a UK property solicitor.
Around 6 hours of video, spread across 11 modules.
Most trainees complete it in 1 to 3 weeks of evening and weekend sessions.
You can move at your own pace — the platform doesn't lock content, expire access, or require you to finish in a set window.
Sign up to the Free UK Course below
Free, no card, full access to all 11 modules and the UK templates.
Takes about 30 seconds — sign up sits directly below this block.
The One Stop Shop Airbnb Training Academy
Our Airbnb Mastery Academy has 2 parts
The academy - 11 modules, 6 hours of video content learning everything you need to start, systemise & scale an Airbnb business in 2024.
The Community - On going support from the founders of Stayful through our FB group and consultation calls who have created a 7 figure Airbnb business so you can limit mistakes made along the way and know you are making the right decisions to grow your business.
