How Many Nights Can You Legally Airbnb Your London Property?
Last updated: May 2026
The answer is 90 nights per calendar year — for entire-home lets in Greater London — without planning permission. But there are three conditions most guides miss, four ways to navigate beyond that limit, and one platform difference that materially changes how you should manage your calendar.
This guide covers what the rule actually says, what counts toward the 90 nights, what doesn't, how enforcement works in practice, how to apply for planning permission to exceed it, and how the hybrid model — combining short-let nights with mid-term corporate lets — allows most London properties to generate significantly more annual income than a long-term tenancy while staying fully compliant.
The legal basis: the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015 (s.44).
In Greater London, an entire residential property may be used as short-term "temporary sleeping accommodation" for a maximum of 90 nights per calendar year (1 January–31 December) without planning permission, provided the person offering the accommodation is liable to pay Council Tax at the property. Room lets (where the owner is present) are exempt. Airbnb enforces this automatically; other platforms do not. Exceeding 90 nights without planning permission can result in fines of up to £20,000 from your borough council.
What counts toward the 90 nights — and what doesn't
The 90-night limit is not just an Airbnb platform rule — it is a planning law that applies to the total number of nights your property is used as temporary sleeping accommodation across all platforms and booking methods combined.
| Situation | Counts toward 90 nights? |
|---|---|
| Entire home let to guests — any platform | YES |
| Entire home — Stayful direct booking (not via Airbnb) | YES (legally) / NO (Airbnb's counter doesn't track it) |
| Dates you block for personal use — no guests | NO |
| Single booking of 90+ consecutive nights (residential tenancy) | NO — treated as a tenancy, not a short-let |
| Room rental while you live in the property | NO — hosted stays are exempt |
| Mid-term let of 28–89 nights (corporate/professional) | NO — stays over 28 nights are not short-lets for planning purposes* |
| Property listed but not booked (vacant nights) | NO — only booked nights count |
*Mid-term lets (28–89 nights) do not count toward the 90-night STR planning restriction but do constitute a letting arrangement — ensure appropriate tenancy documentation is in place. Stays of 90+ consecutive nights to one guest are residential tenancies under law and do not count toward the cap at all.
The two legal conditions most guides don't mention
Most articles on the 90-day rule cite the 90-night limit and stop there.
The Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended, actually sets out two conditions that must both be met for the Deregulation Act exemption to apply.
Total nights used as temporary sleeping accommodation must not exceed 90 in the calendar year.
At least one person providing the accommodation must be liable to pay Council Tax at the property where the short-term accommodation is provided.
The second condition has practical implications for investment properties where the owner does not live at the address and pays council tax elsewhere.
If your London property is purely an investment (you do not live there and do not pay council tax there) and it does not meet the council tax condition, the Deregulation Act exemption may not apply in the same way — and short-term letting could be subject to planning permission requirements from the first night.
This varies by borough. Confirm your specific position with a solicitor or your borough council's planning department before proceeding if you are uncertain which condition applies to your property.
How the three main platforms track — and why it matters for your calendar
The legal 90-night limit applies across all platforms combined.
But the platforms enforce it very differently — which creates a compliance gap that can catch London landlords off guard.
Airbnb automatically blocks your listing calendar once 90 booked nights are reached. You cannot accept further bookings through Airbnb until 1 January. Hosts with planning permission can submit proof to Airbnb to have the cap lifted.
Booking.com has announced similar tracking but enforcement has been inconsistent. Do not rely on Booking.com to block you automatically. Track your total nights manually across platforms.
No automatic enforcement. VRBO and direct-booking channels (including Stayful's direct booking site) have no cap built in. The legal responsibility to track your total across all channels rests entirely with you.
When Stayful manages a London property, we track the 90-night calendar across all platforms we list on and flag when you are approaching the threshold. Your 90-night allocation is planned at the start of the year to ensure peak dates are captured first. After the threshold is reached, mid-term corporate lets fill the balance of the calendar legally under the hybrid model.
How to exceed 90 nights legally — the planning permission route
If you want to short-let your London property for more than 90 nights per year, you need planning permission from your borough council for a "change of use" from residential (Class C3) to temporary sleeping accommodation (Class C1).
Stayful can guide you through this process as part of onboarding for properties where the owner intends to maximise the full calendar year on short-let rates.
Each London borough processes these applications independently. Westminster, Camden, and Kensington & Chelsea are among the most active in enforcement and application processing. Start by checking your borough's specific planning policies for short-term lets.
Application fees typically range from £200–£300 for a single residential property. You will need to demonstrate that the change of use is appropriate for the property, will not adversely affect neighbours or local housing stock, and that the property meets safety requirements.
Processing times vary by borough — typically 8–13 weeks. Planning permission is not guaranteed. Boroughs assess applications against local housing policies. If refused, you can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
Once planning permission is granted, submit the decision notice to Airbnb via their host support team. Airbnb will remove the 90-night cap from your listing. Keep the original permission document — you may need it if your borough's enforcement team conducts a review.
The hybrid model — how most London properties maximise annual income within the rule
Most London landlords working with Stayful do not pursue planning permission to exceed 90 nights.
Instead, the hybrid model uses the 90 nights strategically for peak short-let demand and fills the balance of the calendar with mid-term corporate and professional lets — which are not subject to the 90-night planning restriction and command strong nightly rates from City and Canary Wharf business travellers.
The core principle: deploy the 90 STR nights in the periods of maximum demand, then transition to mid-term corporate lets for the remaining calendar. Both streams are managed by Stayful under the same 15% + VAT fee. The combined annual income consistently exceeds what a long-term tenancy pays.
Allocated to peak demand periods: summer (July–September), Christmas/New Year, Wimbledon fortnight, Notting Hill Carnival, London Marathon, major events at Wembley, The O2, Hyde Park. At peak rates, 90 nights produces a disproportionate share of the annual income.
Corporate and professional lets (28–89 nights) target City and Canary Wharf project workers, visiting academics, NHS locum staff, and legal/consulting contractors. Stays of 28+ nights carry no platform fee, no Airbnb commission, and do not count against the 90-night STR cap.
Borough-specific enforcement — where the rule is most actively enforced
The 90-night rule is uniform across Greater London but enforcement is carried out by individual borough councils, which vary significantly in how actively they investigate and pursue breaches.
Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea are among London's most active enforcement authorities for short-term let breaches.
Both have dedicated planning enforcement officers who investigate complaints and monitor listings platforms.
Camden Council has also issued enforcement notices against properties operating beyond the 90-night limit without permission in parts of the borough where housing pressure is highest.
If your property is in any of these three boroughs, the hybrid model and strict calendar tracking are particularly important.
Tower Hamlets, Hackney, and Islington have historically been more complaint-responsive than proactively searching for breaches.
Enforcement in these boroughs is typically triggered by neighbour complaints rather than systematic platform monitoring — but actions have been taken, including formal enforcement notices and fines.
The practical position: compliance reduces your enforcement risk to near-zero regardless of borough. The hybrid model and 90-night tracking removes the primary source of complaint-driven enforcement.
The 90-night planning rule and your lease covenant are entirely separate legal frameworks.
Many London leasehold properties — particularly flats and apartments — contain covenants that restrict or prohibit short-term subletting, regardless of what the planning rules permit.
Breaching a lease covenant by short-letting without freeholder consent is a civil matter between you and your freeholder — it can result in lease forfeiture in serious cases.
Always check your lease and obtain written freeholder consent before listing a leasehold London property on any short-let platform.
Stayful can advise on how to approach freeholder consent requests and what documentation to provide. See our separate guide: Can I rent a leasehold flat on Airbnb if the lease forbids it?
The England STR registration scheme — what's coming in 2026
The government's mandatory short-term rental registration scheme for England is progressing through implementation under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2024.
When live, the scheme will require all short-let property owners in England (including London) to register their property before listing on platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, or VRBO.
Platforms will be required to verify that hosts hold a valid registration number before a listing can go live.
The registration scheme is separate from and in addition to the London 90-night planning restriction — both rules will apply simultaneously once the scheme is live.
Stayful monitors the implementation timeline and guides all new London owners through the registration process as part of onboarding.
As of May 2026, the England STR registration scheme has been legislated but is not yet live for hosts to register. Stayful will contact all managed London properties directly when the registration portal opens. No action is required from current owners at this stage.
Questions London landlords ask about the 90-night rule
In Greater London, a residential property may only be used as short-term "temporary sleeping accommodation" for an entire-home let for a maximum of 90 nights per calendar year without planning permission.
The rule was introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015 (amending the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973) and applies across all 32 London boroughs plus the City of London.
Airbnb automatically enforces the cap by blocking your listing calendar once 90 booked nights are reached. Other platforms do not enforce it automatically — the legal responsibility to track total nights across all platforms rests with the property owner.
Fines of up to £20,000 can be imposed by your borough council for breach of the planning restriction.
Yes — but only if you obtain planning permission from your borough council for a change of use from residential (Class C3) to temporary sleeping accommodation (Class C1).
Alternatively, you can use the hybrid model: deploy your 90 short-let nights in peak demand periods, then transition to mid-term corporate or professional lets (28–89 nights) for the balance of the year. Stays of 28+ nights do not count toward the 90-night cap.
Planning permission is not guaranteed and varies significantly by borough. Westminster, Camden, and Kensington & Chelsea are among the most restrictive in practice.
Yes — the legal 90-night limit applies to the total number of nights your property is used as temporary sleeping accommodation across all platforms and booking methods combined, not just Airbnb.
Airbnb is the only platform that automatically blocks your listing at 90 nights. Booking.com has partial enforcement. VRBO and direct booking channels have no automatic cap.
If you list on multiple platforms, you are entirely responsible for tracking and capping your total nights. Stayful manages this tracking for all platforms we list on as part of the management service.
No — the 90-night limit applies to entire-home lets only.
If you live in the property while guests stay (renting out a spare room as a "hosted stay"), the 90-day rule does not apply. You can host year-round with no night cap.
The key condition is that you are "genuinely resident" — meaning you are actually present during guest stays, not simply listed as a private room while leaving the property empty. Local councils may treat a nominally private room listing where the owner is absent as a whole-property let.
Airbnb automatically blocks your listing from accepting further bookings once the 90-night threshold is reached. No further short-let bookings can be made through Airbnb until 1 January of the following year.
If you exceed the 90-night limit across all platforms without planning permission, your borough council can take planning enforcement action. This may include a formal enforcement notice requiring you to cease short-letting, and a fine of up to £20,000.
Enforcement is primarily complaint-driven in practice — but deliberate circumvention (for example, by listing the same property under different names or addresses across platforms to avoid Airbnb's counter) carries significantly higher risk of formal action.
Yes, within the 90-night limit — but with an important caveat.
The Deregulation Act 2015 exemption was specifically designed to allow Londoners to let their home while they are not using it. One of the two legal conditions requires that at least one person providing the accommodation is liable to pay Council Tax at the property.
For pure investment properties (where the owner pays council tax at a different address and nobody is liable for council tax at the let property), the planning position may differ from that of an owner-occupier letting their main home.
If your property is a second home or investment property, confirm your specific position with a planning solicitor or your borough council before listing. Stayful can advise on the practical implications for your specific postcode and property type during our initial assessment.
No — the 90-night statutory cap is unique to Greater London under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973.
In the rest of England (including Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, and all other cities), there is currently no equivalent statutory night limit on short-term letting.
General planning rules still apply outside London — if short-term letting becomes the primary use of a property rather than incidental use, local councils in England can treat this as a material change of use requiring planning permission. But this is assessed case by case, not at a fixed night cap.
The England-wide STR registration scheme, when live, will apply nationally. But this is a registration requirement, not a night cap.
Questions about how the 90-day rule applies to your specific London property? Speak to the Stayful team — or run the income estimate to see what the hybrid model produces for your postcode.
Ready to see what your London property earns under the hybrid model?
The income estimate shows the full-year projection — 90 peak STR nights plus the mid-term corporate balance — net of all fees. Takes 2 minutes. No obligation.