In Greater London, an entire home can be let as short-term 'temporary sleeping accommodation' for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission; beyond that, it becomes a material change of use that legally requires permission. The rule comes from section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015, which inserted section 25A into the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 — and the detail of how nights are counted catches many hosts out.
What is the 90-night rule?
Section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 normally treats using a home as 'temporary sleeping accommodation' — short-term paying guests — as a material change of use requiring planning permission. Section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015 relaxed this: in Greater London, that change of use does not apply, and no planning permission is needed, as long as two conditions are met in the same calendar year.
How the 90 nights are actually counted
Per the statute (legislation.gov.uk, Deregulation Act 2015, s.44), the two conditions are: first, the total of (a) the nights of the current use as temporary sleeping accommodation and (b) the nights of any previous such use of the same premises earlier in the same calendar year must not exceed ninety in total; and second, the person providing the accommodation must have been liable to pay council tax on the premises for each of those nights.
In other words, the 90 nights is a running annual total across every short let of that property in the calendar year — not a per-booking or per-guest allowance. Ten separate nine-night bookings use up the same 90 nights as one 90-night booking.
What happens if you exceed 90 nights?
Going over 90 nights in the calendar year, without planning permission, turns the letting into an unauthorised material change of use — a planning matter the local planning authority can take enforcement action against, rather than a licensing offence in the way Scotland's regime works (see our Scotland STL licence guide). Some hosts do hold planning permission or a council exemption allowing more than 90 nights — in which case the cap does not apply to that property.
How Airbnb enforces the limit
Airbnb applies the London rule at platform level for entire-home London listings: once a listing has accumulated 90 nights of bookings in the calendar year, Airbnb's system automatically stops it being booked for further dates that year. Hosts who hold planning permission or a council exemption can request the limit be lifted for their listing via the Regulations tab in their listing settings, evidencing that permission.
What the cap means for cleaning and turnaround
Because every one of the 90 nights is finite, capped revenue, turnaround efficiency matters more in London than almost anywhere else — a late or botched changeover that costs a booking is lost income that cannot simply be made up later in the year. Many London hosts also switch a capped property to a different use once the limit is reached (a mid- to long-term let, or personal use), which needs a different type of clean: a thorough reset rather than a repeat changeover. Our Airbnb changeover cleaning covers the fast turnaround end, and end of tenancy cleaning covers the reset when a property switches use.
The two statutory conditions (Deregulation Act 2015, s.44)
| Condition | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Night cap | Total nights of temporary sleeping accommodation use in the calendar year (including any earlier use that year) must not exceed 90 |
| Council tax liability | The person providing the accommodation must have been liable for council tax on the premises for each counted night |