Can I Legally Rent Out My Leasehold Flat on Airbnb in the UK?

An absolute covenant is one that prohibits subletting entirely, with no mechanism for the leaseholder to seek consent. Wording such as “the tenant shall not sublet or part with possession of the premises or any part thereof” without any provision for consent is an absolute prohibition. If your lease contains an absolute prohibition on subletting, the freeholder cannot be compelled to grant consent, and you cannot legally short-let the property unless you negotiate a deed of variation to the lease — a formal legal document that amends the covenant, which requires the freeholder’s agreement and typically involves solicitor fees on both sides.

Absolute covenants are more common in older leases — those granted before 1990 — and in leases for properties within managed blocks where the freeholder has a strong interest in controlling the use of individual flats. If you are unsure whether your covenant is absolute, have a solicitor review the lease before doing anything else.

A qualified covenant permits subletting subject to the freeholder’s prior written consent. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988, where a lease contains a qualified covenant against subletting, the freeholder cannot unreasonably withhold or delay consent once a written application has been made. The freeholder must respond within a reasonable time — typically 28 days — and if they refuse, they must give written reasons. Unreasonable refusal exposes them to a damages claim.

For short-term letting specifically, the question of what constitutes “unreasonable” refusal is less settled than for long-term subletting. A freeholder can reasonably argue that short-term letting raises concerns about building security, additional wear and tear on common parts, disturbance to other residents, and potential insurance complications. Courts have upheld some freeholder refusals on these grounds. The stronger your proposed management arrangement — professional management company, ID verification, 24/7 guest support — the harder it is for a freeholder to sustain a reasonable refusal.

Most residential leases predate the existence of short-term letting platforms and make no specific mention of “holiday letting”, “short-term accommodation”, or “Airbnb”. The absence of a specific prohibition does not mean short-term letting is automatically permitted. Courts and freeholders generally interpret short-term letting as falling within the general meaning of “subletting” — even though a short-term letting arrangement technically creates a licence rather than a tenancy.

Additionally, many leases contain a “user covenant” restricting use to “residential purposes only” or prohibiting any “trade, business or profession” from being carried on at the property. Short-term letting has been found by some courts and freeholders to constitute a business use — meaning it could breach a user covenant even if the subletting clause appears to permit it. If your lease contains a user covenant, that clause requires separate analysis from the subletting clause.

The safest approach where the lease is silent or ambiguous is to seek a solicitor’s written opinion on the specific wording before proceeding, and to obtain freeholder consent in writing as a precautionary measure even if you believe the lease permits it without consent.

In most residential leases, the subletting covenant and user covenant appear in the section headed “Lessee’s Covenants”, “Tenant’s Obligations”, or “Conditions” — typically in the first third of the lease. Search for the words “assign”, “sublet”, “part with possession”, and “use”. The alienation clause governs what you can and cannot do in terms of letting or transferring the property. The user clause governs what the property can be used for.

If you do not have a copy of your lease, you can obtain one from HM Land Registry for a small fee — most registered leasehold properties have their lease filed as a title document and available online. If the lease is long and complex, a solicitor or licensed conveyancer can review the relevant sections and give you a written opinion on whether short-term letting is permitted within typically one to two hours of professional time.

A standard residential mortgage — including owner-occupier repayment and interest-only mortgages — is underwritten on the assumption that the borrower occupies the property as their main residence. Subletting the property, whether on a long AST or a short-term basis, typically requires the lender’s prior consent under the mortgage conditions. Most lenders offer a “consent to let” for AST arrangements when an owner needs to move and let temporarily — but very few standard residential mortgage products explicitly permit short-term holiday letting as part of a consent to let arrangement.

If your property is on a residential mortgage and you wish to short-let it, you must contact your lender specifically — not through a general helpline but through the mortgage servicing team — and ask in writing whether short-term letting is permitted under your current product. Some lenders will consent; some will require you to switch to a buy-to-let or holiday let mortgage product; some will decline entirely. The lender’s written response is what matters, not a verbal answer from a call centre agent.

A common misconception is that a buy-to-let mortgage permits any form of letting. Most buy-to-let mortgage products are specifically underwritten for Assured Shorthold Tenancy arrangements — standard 6 or 12-month residential lettings with a named tenant. Short-term holiday letting — which creates a series of short licences rather than a tenancy — is a materially different activity from an AST, and most buy-to-let mortgage conditions either explicitly prohibit it or do not include it within the permitted use.

Some lenders have developed specific holiday let mortgage products or short-term let endorsements. If you are on a buy-to-let mortgage and wish to short-let, the same process applies as for a residential mortgage: contact your lender in writing, ask specifically about short-term holiday letting, and obtain a written response before proceeding. If your existing product does not permit it, ask whether a product transfer to a holiday let mortgage is available.

A mortgage is a legal contract. Breaching its conditions — including conditions about permitted use of the property — gives the lender a contractual right to take action. In practice, most lenders who discover short-term letting without consent will first issue a notice requiring the activity to cease. However, lenders retain the technical right under most mortgage conditions to call in the loan — demanding immediate repayment of the outstanding balance — in the event of a material breach. This is an extreme outcome, but it is a real contractual right and not an empty one.

There is also an insurance dimension. Buildings insurance on a leasehold flat is typically maintained by the freeholder or management company. If the insurance policy does not cover short-term holiday use and an incident occurs — a guest injury, a fire, significant water damage — the insurer may refuse a claim on the basis that the use of the property had changed without disclosure. This risk falls primarily on the freeholder, which is one reason why freeholders have a legitimate interest in knowing about and consenting to short-term letting in their buildings.

Where a qualified covenant applies, a freeholder can legitimately refuse consent on grounds that are reasonable in the context of their obligations to all leaseholders in the building. Reasonable grounds for refusal include: demonstrable risk of increased noise or disturbance to neighbouring leaseholders, concerns about building security arising from frequent unknown occupants, insurance implications for the buildings policy, and potential conflict with the terms of the buildings insurance. A freeholder who refuses consent must give written reasons and those reasons must be sustainable.

What a freeholder cannot do is refuse consent on principle because they simply dislike short-term letting, or because it is administratively inconvenient, or because a small number of other leaseholders have complained without substantive grounds. An unreasonable refusal entitles the leaseholder to seek a declaration from the court that consent has been unreasonably withheld, and to seek damages if the delay has caused financial loss. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 places the burden of proof on the freeholder to justify a refusal — not on the leaseholder to prove it was unreasonable.

A formal written application to your freeholder or managing agent should include: a clear statement of what you are requesting (permission to use the property for short-term holiday letting), the name and details of the management company you propose to use, an explanation of their guest vetting and security procedures, confirmation of the insurance cover they carry, and a statement of how you will ensure the arrangement does not interfere with other residents’ enjoyment of the building. The more professional and detailed the application, the harder it is for a freeholder to construct a sustainable refusal.

Freeholders and managing agents can charge a reasonable administrative fee for processing a consent application — typically £100–500 depending on the managing agent. This is a legitimate charge and is not a reason to apply informally or verbally. Always obtain consent in writing, even where a freeholder appears to have given verbal agreement. A verbal consent is not enforceable in the event of a later dispute. Keep all correspondence as evidence of the consent and the basis on which it was granted.

If a freeholder refuses consent and you believe the refusal is unreasonable, your options include: formal correspondence challenging the reasons given, an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England and Wales for a declaration that consent has been unreasonably withheld, or a county court claim for damages. These routes involve legal costs and time, and are not always proportionate for a single property owner — particularly if you have not yet established the income case.

Before committing to a legal challenge, run the income estimate for your property. Knowing what the property could realistically earn — including the quieter months — helps you assess whether the time and cost of challenging a refusal is commercially justified against the income opportunity. The income calculator on this page provides that figure in approximately two minutes.

Under Section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended by Section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015, a residential property in Greater London can be used as temporary sleeping accommodation for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without the use constituting a material change of use requiring planning permission. This applies across all 32 London boroughs and the City of London.

The 90-night limit applies to the property — not to any individual platform or booking arrangement. Nights booked through Airbnb, Booking.com, Stayful direct, or any other channel all count toward the 90-night total for that calendar year. Airbnb applies automatic blocking in London once a listing has reached 90 nights; other platforms do not always do so automatically, making it the owner’s or management company’s responsibility to monitor compliance.

Above 90 nights, you require planning permission for a change of use from residential (Use Class C3) to short-term letting accommodation. Applications are made to the relevant London borough. Some boroughs — including Westminster, Camden, and Tower Hamlets — have been increasingly active in enforcing the limit and in refusing planning permission for change of use. An enforcement notice for exceeding the limit can require you to cease the activity immediately. There is no criminal penalty for a first breach, but continued non-compliance after an enforcement notice can result in fines.

Scotland operates a mandatory Short-Term Let licensing regime, introduced under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 as amended by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022. All short-term let operators in Scotland — including those letting a leasehold flat — must hold a valid Short-Term Let licence from their local council before accepting any bookings. Operating without a licence is a criminal offence and can result in a fine of up to £2,500.

Licence applications require evidence of compliance with planning requirements (some Scottish councils require a change of use or planning permission even for existing lets), building and fire safety standards, and insurance. The licensing requirement applies regardless of lease type — freehold or leasehold — and regardless of which platform the bookings come through. Leasehold owners in Scotland must therefore complete four steps before proceeding: lease consent, mortgage consent, freeholder consent, and council licensing.

Outside Greater London, there is no national equivalent of the 90-night rule. Short-term letting of a residential property in England and Wales is generally not considered a material change of use from residential — meaning it does not require planning permission — provided the property retains its fundamentally residential character. Where an entire property is let commercially on a year-round basis with no owner occupation, some local planning authorities have taken the position that a material change of use has occurred.

Several local planning authorities in England have introduced Article 4 Directions that withdraw permitted development rights and require planning permission for the conversion of residential properties (Use Class C3) to short-term letting use. As of June 2026, Article 4 Directions applicable to short-term letting have been introduced or consulted upon in areas including parts of the Lake District, Cornwall, and parts of Yorkshire. The direction applicable to your specific property’s location should be checked with the relevant local planning authority before proceeding. A national registration scheme for short-term lets in England has been in progress through government consultation and may introduce further requirements — confirm the current position before listing.

If you short-let in breach of a lease covenant, your freeholder can apply to the county court for an injunction requiring you to cease the activity immediately. They can also seek damages for any loss caused by the breach — for example, increased wear on common parts or costs incurred in investigating the breach. In extreme cases, a freeholder can apply to the court for forfeiture of the lease — termination of the lease and loss of the property. Forfeiture is a severe remedy and courts require strict procedural compliance before granting it, and leaseholders have rights to apply for relief from forfeiture. However, even an unsuccessful forfeiture claim involves significant legal costs and disruption.

In practice, most freeholders who discover unauthorised short-term letting begin by issuing a formal notice requiring the activity to cease, rather than immediately applying for an injunction or forfeiture. The most common outcome of an unauthorised arrangement being discovered is a demand to formalise the consent retrospectively — which typically involves legal costs and a higher administrative fee than would have been required for a proactive application.

Breaching your mortgage conditions by short-letting without consent gives your lender a contractual right to take enforcement action. In practice, most lenders begin with a demand to cease the activity, followed by a requirement to obtain formal consent or switch to an appropriate product. The right to call in the outstanding loan — demanding immediate repayment of the entire mortgage balance — exists under most mortgage conditions and is the nuclear option that lenders retain even if they rarely exercise it for a first offence.

The discovery risk is not negligible. Platform listing pages are publicly visible. Lenders, managing agents, and neighbours can and do check platforms. Some managing agents actively monitor short-term letting activity in their buildings. Proceeding without consent on the assumption of not being discovered is not a risk management strategy.