The London 90-Night Rule, Explained

In London, certain residential properties may be let as short-term accommodation for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without needing planning permission for a change of use, and letting beyond that point normally requires planning permission. The rule is London specific, it applies to particular kinds of residential use, and it turns on counting nights correctly. A host who treats 90 as a UK allowance, or who counts nights per listing rather than per property, will misapply it.

Counting is the heart of the rule. Nights let through every channel for the same property generally count together towards the total, so splitting a let across two platforms does not create two allowances. Hosts need a single night count per property per calendar year, updated at each booking, and a clear point at which further short lets stop unless planning permission has been obtained.

Check London planning guidance and the borough's pages, as checked on 26 October 2026, before relying on any summary. Boroughs administer planning locally, and a borough may have its own guidance, article 4 direction or local policy that affects the position for a specific address.

Count nights of short-term letting, not bookings, guests or listings. A three night stay counts as three nights, a weekend stay counts by its nights, and stays through different platforms for the same property add together. A host who counts per platform will undercount and may pass 90 without realising it, which is the most common counting error.

The counting period is the calendar year for the property, so a count must reset at the year boundary and must not be carried across years to create headroom. Keep a simple annual log per property: start date, end date, nights, channel and guest number. That log, kept contemporaneously, is far more credible than a reconstruction made after a council inquiry.

Short stays that fall outside the rule's scope, if any, must be identified from the guidance, not assumed. Some kinds of occupation may not count as short-term letting for this purpose, while others clearly do. Where a stay's status is unclear, note the uncertainty in the log and seek borough advice, rather than silently excluding nights to stay under 90.

The rule covers residential properties used as short-term accommodation in London, but the exact property types and tenures it reaches are set by planning law and borough interpretation. A freehold house, a leasehold flat and a flat in a mixed building may each raise different questions, especially where a lease or freeholder covenant also restricts letting. Planning permission and lease permission are separate, and both may be needed.

Hosted lets, where the host remains in residence, and unhosted whole property lets can differ in planning character, even though both count towards a night total where they fall within the rule. Hosts should describe their actual letting pattern to the borough when asking for advice, rather than using a platform label such as hosted or entire home, because the borough will assess the real use.

Properties already holding planning permission for short-term use sit outside the 90-night question for the permission they hold, subject to any conditions in that permission. A permission may limit nights, guests or operation in its own terms, and those conditions govern instead of, or alongside, the general rule. Read the permission itself.

Letting beyond 90 nights without permission risks planning enforcement, and the remedy is normally to apply for planning permission for a change of use to short-term letting, or to stop short letting at 90. An application is assessed on planning merits: the character of the area, neighbour amenity, housing supply, and any local policy on short lets. There is no guarantee of approval, and a refusal leaves the host with the 90-night limit.

Applying takes time, evidence and, often, professional input. A host who approaches 90 mid-year should decide early whether to apply, to pause short lets for the rest of the year, or to switch the property to a longer letting pattern that falls outside short-term use. Leaving that decision until night 89 creates a rushed application and a gap in bookings.

If permission is granted, keep it with the property file and comply with every condition: night limits in the permission, guest limits, management conditions or operational requirements. A permission breached through its conditions can be enforced just as a let without permission can, so the conditions deserve the same attention as the permission itself.

Enforcement in London is driven by neighbour complaints, borough data work and platform information. Boroughs can compare listing activity, night counts inferred from calendars, and complaints to identify properties that appear to exceed 90 nights without permission. A host with a contemporaneous night log can answer such an inquiry quickly; a host without one must reconstruct counts under pressure.

A borough that finds a breach will normally contact the host, set out the evidence, and invite a response or an application. Ignoring that contact allows the matter to escalate to formal enforcement, with notices, possible fines and an order to stop the use. Early engagement, a correct night log and a clear plan, whether application or pause, usually produce a better outcome.

Platform night limits, where a platform caps a London listing at 90, are a helpful guardrail but not a legal answer. A platform cap may count differently, may reset on a different date, or may not cover direct bookings. The host's own count, covering every channel, is the governing record, and the platform cap should be treated as a backup, not as the count itself.

Keep one annual night log per property, covering every channel, updated at booking and at check out. Set an alert at around 70 nights, so the decision about permission or pause is made with time to spare. If you approach 90, stop short lets or secure permission before exceeding it, and keep the borough correspondence with the log.

At year end, close the log, keep it with planning and registration records, and start a fresh log for the new year. That annual rhythm, repeated without exception, is what keeps a London let inside the rule and keeps a host able to prove it.