What the 90-Night Rule Actually Means for Your Property

If you're considering short-let income from a London property, the 90-night rule is the first thing to understand — and the thing most landlords get slightly wrong.

The basic rule

Under the Deregulation Act 2015, an entire home in Greater London can be let on a short-term basis (broadly, individual bookings under 90 nights) for a maximum of 90 nights per calendar year without planning permission. The count resets on 1 January and applies per property, not per booking platform — nights on Airbnb, Booking.com, and any direct bookings all count toward the same limit.

Go over 90 nights without permission and you're technically in breach, which can mean enforcement action from your local council. In practice, platforms like Airbnb also cap London listings at 90 nights automatically unless you've confirmed you hold the relevant permission.

What doesn't count

• Hosted stays — where you, the owner, are present in the property — are exempt entirely.
• Bookings of 28 nights or more are treated differently in law and don't count toward the 90-night total at all.
• If you hold specific planning permission for short-let use, the cap doesn't apply.

The mid-term workaround, done properly

This is where a lot of the real income sits. A property let for stretches of 28 nights or more — corporate relocations, visiting academics, extended projects — falls entirely outside the 90-night restriction. A well-run mix of short and mid-term bookings can keep a property earning close to year-round without ever approaching the cap.

The catch is that mid-term guests are a different market to short-let tourists — different pricing, different platforms, different expectations. It's a strategy that works well when it's actively managed, and works badly when a property is just left on a single Airbnb listing and hoped for the best.

What's changing

England is in the process of introducing a mandatory registration scheme for short-term lets, with a unique property number required on listings. It's still rolling out through 2026, and the detail is worth checking against current GOV.UK guidance rather than relying on anything written before this year — this is one of the fastest-moving corners of property law right now.