What the rule actually says
In Greater London, using residential premises as temporary sleeping accommodation is treated as a material change of use, which would normally require planning permission. Government planning guidance sets out an exception: where the use meets the stated conditions — including that the total does not exceed 90 nights in a calendar year — permission is not required on that basis alone.
In practice that is what owners mean by "the 90-night rule". It is a condition of an exception, not an allowance handed out by a booking platform, and it exists in planning law rather than in a platform's terms.
The conditions attached
Two points are worth drawing out from the guidance. First, the exception is conditional: the 90-night total in a calendar year is one condition, and the guidance also requires that the person liable for council tax in respect of the premises is liable for it. Second, the exception can be disapplied: the guidance describes a mechanism by which the position can be changed for particular premises or areas within London. So the general rule is not automatically the answer for every address.
Because both the guidance and any local direction can change, treat the GOV.UK page as the live source and check it before a letting year begins.
How the nights are counted
The limit attaches to the use of the property, not to a platform or an account. Nights of qualifying short-let use count towards the same annual total whether they came through Airbnb, Booking.com, a corporate channel or a direct booking, and the count runs by calendar year rather than from the date you started. Arrangements that are not temporary sleeping accommodation, such as a longer tenancy, are treated differently — check how yours is treated rather than assuming.
This is a practical argument for running one coordinated calendar rather than several listings maintained separately, which can make the total harder to reconcile. Distribution and a single calendar are covered in how multi-channel distribution works.
Outside Greater London
The 90-night condition is specific to Greater London. Elsewhere in England, whether planning permission is needed depends on whether short-term letting amounts to a material change of use in that particular case — a judgement on the facts, not a night count. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate their own regimes, which are outside the scope of this guide.
The other permissions that apply
Planning is one permission among several. A lease, building rules, mortgage conditions and insurance can each affect whether a London property can be short-let, independently of the planning position.
Separate from planning
- Your leaseLease terms vary; check for restrictions on short-term letting, sub-letting or business use.
- Building or management-company rulesBlocks commonly restrict guest access, lift use, key safes and bin arrangements.
- Mortgage conditionsLenders set their own terms on letting, and consent is not automatic.
- InsuranceAsk your insurer or broker to confirm cover for your intended paying-guest use.
- Safety obligationsWork through current government guidance and use competent professionals for checks.
A checklist before you let
- Confirm the property is in Greater LondonThe boundary matters. A property just outside it is in a different position entirely.
- Read the current GOV.UK planning guidanceCheck the conditions as they stand, not as an article described them.
- Check with the local planning authorityAsk specifically whether any direction applies to your premises or area.
- Check the lease, mortgage and insuranceAny one of them can prevent short-letting regardless of the planning position.
- Decide how nights will be counted and recordedOne calendar, one running total, kept for the calendar year.
- Plan which 90 nights you wantIf the limit binds, the question becomes which periods to let, not how many.
Operating within the limit
Where a limit applies, the operating question changes shape. It is no longer about filling the calendar; it is about choosing the periods worth letting, keeping an accurate running total across every channel, and closing availability cleanly once the total is reached. Some London owners combine a limited short-let period with longer stays for the rest of the year, which is a different arrangement and needs checking on its own terms.
We manage properties in London and will tell you plainly if we think a property should not be short-let — including where the lease or the planning position makes it unwise. If you would like that view on a specific property, ask for a review.
Request a property review → or see Airbnb management in London.
