Do You Need Planning Permission for a Short-Let or Airbnb in the UK?
Most of England doesn't require planning permission for Airbnb — London does, above 90 nights a year. And subletting always needs the landlord's consent regardless.
Quick answer: In most of England, you don't need planning permission to let your own home on Airbnb short-term. The major exception is Greater London, where letting an entire home for more than 90 nights a year requires planning permission. Separately, if you're subletting as a rent-to-rent operator, you need the landlord's written consent regardless of planning rules.
Do You Need Planning Permission to Airbnb Your Home?
Outside London, letting out your own residential property short-term generally doesn't trigger a change of planning use, provided it remains genuinely residential in character and you're not running something closer to a hotel or hostel operation. Local authorities can still act if a property causes genuine nuisance (noise, anti-social behaviour), but that's an enforcement issue, not a planning-permission one.
What About London's 90-Night Rule?
Greater London is the one place with a specific statutory cap: under the Deregulation Act 2015, letting an entire London property as short-term furnished accommodation for more than 90 nights in a calendar year requires planning permission, unless the property already has an existing use certificate for short-let use. Most Airbnb hosts in London self-report and cap their listings at 90 nights to stay compliant — several platforms, including Airbnb itself, enforce this automatically for London listings.
What If You Don't Own the Property? (Rent-to-Rent & Landlord Consent)
Planning permission is a separate question from your right to sublet in the first place. A standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) prohibits subletting or short-let use without the landlord's express written consent — operating a rent-to-rent short-let without it is a breach of your own tenancy, regardless of what the council's planning rules say. Any legitimate rent-to-rent arrangement should be documented, typically via a company-let agreement with the landlord.
What Happens If You Ignore These Rules?
In London, operating beyond the 90-night cap without permission exposes you to enforcement action from the council, and separately, breaching your tenancy's subletting clause can mean eviction and loss of any deposit, irrespective of how profitable the short-let was running. Neither risk is worth the marginal extra nights of income.
Model the Numbers Properly First
Whichever structure you're considering, it's worth stress-testing the numbers with realistic occupancy assumptions before committing — our Airbnb & short-let calculator covers both a standard Buy strategy and a Rent-to-Rent structure, so you can see what the deal actually returns once the compliant, realistic constraints are factored in.