London's 90-night rule for Airbnb, explained

You can let a whole home in London to short-stay guests for up to 90 nights a year without planning permission. Go over that, and your borough can take enforcement action against your home. The rule also has a second condition that most owners never hear about.

Here is how the rule works, what counts towards it, and how to stay on the right side of it.

Where does the 90-night rule come from?

London has its own law on short lets, older than Airbnb. Under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, using a home in London as "temporary sleeping accommodation" counts as a material change of use. That is the planning term for a change big enough to need permission.

In 2015 the government relaxed this. Section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015 added an exception, so short-term letting no longer needs permission as long as two conditions are met. The City of London explains that without the exception, using a home this way needs planning permission.

What are the two conditions of the 90-night rule?

The Greater London Authority's guidance explains how the rule works across London's boroughs.

The City of London's guidance sets out both conditions:

• The nights. The total number of nights the home is used for short stays must not go over 90 in the same calendar year.
• The council tax. The person providing the accommodation must be liable to pay council tax on the home.

Camden's planning documents describe the second condition as council tax, not business rates. That matters if you ever move your home onto business rates. We explain why in our guide to council tax and second homes for London short lets.

What counts as a night?

The law defines temporary sleeping accommodation as a home occupied by the same person for fewer than 90 consecutive nights, in return for payment. In practice, every paid stay shorter than 90 nights in a row counts towards your 90.

The count runs over the calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December. A 3-night weekend uses 3 nights. A 30-night stay uses 30. Nights when the home sits empty do not count.

Stays of 90 nights or more in a row by the same person are not temporary sleeping accommodation, so they do not count. They come with their own risks, which we cover in medium-term lets in London.

Does Airbnb count your nights for you?

Since 2017, Airbnb has automatically limited entire home listings in Greater London to 90 nights a year, unless the host confirms they have permission to go further. Once a listing reaches 90 booked nights, the calendar closes for the rest of the year.

The law counts every night the home is used, whichever website the booking came from. If you list on Booking.com or Vrbo too, Airbnb's counter only sees part of the picture. Keep one count across all of them.

What happens if you go over 90 nights?

Letting beyond 90 nights without permission is a breach of planning control, and boroughs do act. Camden's records show an enforcement notice issued after a home was let for more than 90 nights in one year. An enforcement notice orders you to stop the unlawful use, and it can be followed by further action if you ignore it.

The law also lets a borough apply to switch off the 90-night exception for particular homes or areas, to protect the local area. Check with your borough if your street has had problems with short lets.

Can you get permission to let for longer?

You can apply to your borough for planning permission to change the use of the home. Camden describes this as a change from a normal home (use class C3) to a short-term let use, which planners call "sui generis", meaning a use in a class of its own. Boroughs weigh the loss of a permanent home carefully, so do not assume permission will be granted.

Which other rules still apply?

The 90-night rule is only about planning. Your lease, mortgage and insurance may have their own limits, and fire, gas and electrical safety rules apply to every short let. England is also building a national short-let register, which GOV.UK marks as not yet in force as of September 2026. Read our guide to the new short-let register for England.

What does this mean for you?

• You can short-let a whole London home for up to 90 nights a year without permission, as long as you pay council tax on it.
• Count every paid stay under 90 nights, on every platform, from 1 January.
• Choose your 90 nights carefully. The best ones fall on big event weeks, as our London events calendar shows.
• For the rest of the year, look at longer stays, your own use or a mix of both.

Plan your 90 nights with us

Our Airbnb management in London plans your calendar around the limit, so your 90 nights land on the dates that pay most. Get a free valuation to see what your home could earn inside the rules.

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This is general information, not legal or tax advice. It is our own interpretation of the rules and figures as they stand on the date shown above, and they can change. Speak to a qualified solicitor or accountant before you act on anything here.