Airbnb 90-Day Rule London: Borough-by-Borough Enforcement Guide

London caps short-term lets at 90 nights per calendar year. Exceed that without planning permission and you face fines of up to £20,000. But enforcement varies wildly between boroughs — some actively pursue violations, others only act on complaints.

Here's how the rule actually works, which boroughs you need to watch, and what changes in 2026.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Contact your borough council's planning team for property-specific advice.

How the 90-Day Rule Works

Section 25 of the Deregulation Act 2015 allows London homeowners to let their property for up to 90 nights per calendar year without needing planning permission for a change of use.

Key details:

• 90 nights per calendar year — resets on 1 January each year
• Applies to entire-home listings only — renting a spare room while you're home doesn't count
• Covers all platforms combined — 50 nights on Airbnb + 40 on Booking.com = 90 nights used
• Applies to all 32 London boroughs plus the City of London
• Platform auto-blocking — Airbnb automatically blocks London entire-home listings at 90 nights

Exceeding 90 nights without planning permission is a material change of use under planning law. Your borough council can issue an enforcement notice and fine you up to £20,000. Ignoring an enforcement notice can lead to unlimited fines.

Borough-by-Borough Enforcement

Not all boroughs enforce equally. Based on publicly available enforcement data and reported actions:

High Enforcement

Borough	Enforcement Approach	Notable Actions
Westminster	Proactive — dedicated STL enforcement team	Reported to have investigated thousands of properties; has issued fines of up to £20,000
Camden	Proactive — strict on planning applications	Refuses almost all applications to exceed 90 days; active monitoring
Tower Hamlets	Proactive — particularly in Canary Wharf/Whitechapel areas	Strict enforcement; rarely grants planning permission for STL
Kensington & Chelsea	Active enforcement	Lease restrictions add an extra layer — many blocks prohibit short lets entirely
City of London	Active — small area, high concentration of STLs	Monitors closely; small geographic area makes enforcement easier

Moderate Enforcement

Borough	Enforcement Approach
Hackney	Responds to complaints; increasing monitoring in Shoreditch/Dalston
Islington	Complaint-driven but responsive; has refused planning applications
Southwark	Growing enforcement activity near tourist areas
Lambeth	Enforcement increasing, particularly in Brixton/Vauxhall

Reactive Enforcement

Most outer London boroughs operate on a complaint-driven basis — they'll act when neighbours report a suspected breach, but don't proactively monitor listings. This includes boroughs like Barnet, Bromley, Bexley, Havering, and Sutton.

Reactive enforcement doesn't mean no enforcement. A single neighbour complaint can trigger an investigation, evidence gathering from platform data, and an enforcement notice.

How Boroughs Detect Violations

Councils don't rely solely on complaints. Enforcement methods include:

1. Platform data sharing — Airbnb shares data with some councils on request
2. Listing monitoring — councils (and third-party services they hire) scrape platforms for properties listed year-round
3. Neighbour complaints — still the most common trigger
4. Council tax records — cross-referencing properties receiving single-person council tax discounts with active STL listings
5. Business rates applications — hosts who switch to business rates effectively declare they're operating a commercial let

What Happens If You Exceed 90 Days

The enforcement ladder:

1. Warning letter — the borough contacts you about suspected breach
2. Evidence gathering — the council collects booking data, neighbour statements, platform listings
3. Planning contravention notice (PCN) — formal request for information about the property's use
4. Enforcement notice — requires you to stop short-term letting within a specified period
5. Fine — up to £20,000 for the breach
6. Prosecution — for ignoring an enforcement notice (unlimited fine)

Platforms may also delist your property if a council notifies them of a breach.

Can You Apply to Exceed 90 Days?

Technically, yes — you can apply for planning permission for a change of use from residential (C3) to dedicated short-term let use (typically argued as sui generis under the current Use Classes Order 1987; an English C5 short-term let class has been consulted on but not yet laid as a statutory instrument). In practice:

• Most inner London boroughs refuse these applications — Camden and Tower Hamlets rarely grant them
• Processing time is 8–13 weeks from a valid application
• Costs include the application fee (currently £293 for a change of use) plus architect/planning consultant fees if needed
• Your lease may prohibit it — many London leases and building management rules ban short-term letting regardless of planning permission

If the proposed C5 planning use class is eventually laid as a statutory instrument and commenced (consulted on in 2023-2024; government statements point to 2026 at earliest), it would formalise short-term let use in England. The detail of any transitional provisions — including whether properties with established lawful use are passported — will only be clear when the SI is published. But councils can already apply Article 4 Directions to remove permitted development rights — meaning you'd still need planning permission to operate beyond 90 days in those areas, regardless of how the eventual C5 framework is framed.

What Changes in 2026

Several developments affect London hosts in 2026:

England registration scheme (Spring 2026): Every London STL will need to register and display a registration number. This gives councils a comprehensive database of all STL properties in their borough — expect enforcement to become more systematic.

Second homes Council Tax premium: Since April 2025, councils can charge up to 100% additional Council Tax on furnished second homes. Some London boroughs are applying this. If your STL property is a second home, check with your borough.

FHL tax regime abolished: Since April 2025, Furnished Holiday Let tax advantages (capital allowances, mortgage interest relief, loss carry-forward) are gone. STL income is now taxed as standard rental income.

Tracking Your Nights

If you let across multiple platforms, tracking total nights across the calendar year is critical. Common approaches:

• Platform dashboards — Airbnb tracks nights automatically for London; check other platforms
• Manual spreadsheet — log every booking with check-in/check-out dates
• Compliance tools — dedicated night-count trackers that aggregate across platforms

Set an alert at 70 nights to give yourself time to decide whether to stop or apply for planning permission. At 80 nights, start blocking calendars on other platforms.

Try our free 90-Day Rule Calculator to track your nights against the cap.

For a comprehensive overview of all UK regulations (not just London), see our short-term let regulations guide. If you're unsure about licensing requirements outside London, check our Airbnb licensing guide. For long-running properties where the question is whether immunity from enforcement has accrued, see our holiday let 4-year rule guide.

Sources

• Legislation.gov.uk — Deregulation Act 2015, Section 25
• GOV.UK — England registration scheme consultation
• Legislation.gov.uk — Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Part VII (Enforcement)