Do I need planning permission for a short let in the UK?
Short answer: most short lets outside Greater London do not need planning permission — but that is changing. England has introduced a dedicated short-let use class, and councils are increasingly using Article 4 directions to require consent locally.
This guide sets out exactly when consent is needed in England, Scotland and Wales, and what landlords should do before their first booking.
Greater London: the 90-night rule
In Greater London, letting an entire home on short stays is limited to 90 nights per calendar year without planning permission. The limit comes from the Deregulation Act 2015 and applies per property, per calendar year.
Going beyond 90 nights is a material change of use and needs permission from your borough. Booking platforms enforce the cap automatically on listings they can identify, but the legal responsibility sits with the property owner.
The common workaround is not a loophole: mix up to 90 nights of nightly stays with lettings of 31 nights or more, which fall outside the short-let definition. Corporate and relocation lets are the usual route.
England outside London: use classes and Article 4
A short-let use class now separates dwellinghouses from properties used for short-term letting. Moving an existing home into short-let use is permitted development in most places, so no application is needed.
The exception is where the council has made an Article 4 direction removing that permitted-development right. In those areas — typically tourist hotspots and city centres with housing pressure — you must apply for planning permission before letting short-term.
Always check your council’s planning portal for Article 4 directions covering your postcode before you list. An application typically takes eight weeks and costs a few hundred pounds.
Scotland and Wales
Scotland requires a short-term let licence everywhere, and separately requires planning permission for whole-property secondary lets inside a Short-Term Let Control Area. Edinburgh is the strictest: licence plus planning permission.
Wales has a registration and licensing scheme and consulted on planning consent for change of use to short-term holiday accommodation in pressured areas. Check with the local planning authority for current requirements in your county.
What landlords should do before the first booking
Check for Article 4 directions or a control area covering the property. Confirm any registration or licensing obligation. Check the lease if the property is leasehold — many leases prohibit lettings under six months regardless of planning. Then check your mortgage terms and insurance.
For fully-managed and Guaranteed Rent landlords, AV Property carries out these checks as part of onboarding and monitors night counts where a cap applies.
Frequently asked
Do I need planning permission to Airbnb my house?
Usually not, unless the property is in Greater London and you exceed 90 nights a year, sits inside an Article 4 area in England, or is a secondary let inside a Scottish Short-Term Let Control Area.
How do I check if my property is in an Article 4 area?
Search your local council’s planning policy pages for Article 4 directions, or use the council’s interactive planning constraints map with your postcode.
Does the 90-day rule apply to renting a single room?
The 90-night cap applies to letting an entire dwelling. Letting a room while you continue to live in the property is generally treated as home-share and falls outside the cap, though other obligations still apply.
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