Can You Airbnb Any Property? UK Short-Term Let Rules

Short-term let rules in the UK are the first thing any investor should check before betting on Airbnb income, because the honest answer to "can you Airbnb any property?" is no. Whether a home can be short-let legally depends on where it is, what your mortgage says, what your lease allows, and a set of planning and tax rules that changed significantly in 2025 and 2026. Get it wrong and you risk enforcement action, a breached mortgage, or a tax bill you did not plan for. This guide walks through the short-term let rules that decide whether a property works for holiday or nightly letting, and where those rules are lightest for investors.

Key Takeaways

• Four Gates Decide It: Planning, your mortgage, your lease and licensing each have to say yes, so a property is only a viable short let when all four line up.
• London 90-Night Cap: Letting a London home for more than 90 nights a year as short-stay accommodation needs planning permission, a limit that does not apply elsewhere in England.
• New C5 Use Class: England is introducing a dedicated short-term let planning class and a national register, so the rules are tightening, not loosening.
• Tax Perk Is Gone: The Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime was abolished in April 2025, so older guidance promising special holiday-let reliefs is out of date.

What counts as a short-term let?

A short-term let is a property let for short stays, typically nightly or weekly, to guests who are not making it their home: holidaymakers, business travellers, or people between homes. Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo are the usual platforms, but the label is about how the property is used, not where it is advertised. This is different from a standard assured shorthold tenancy, where a tenant takes the property as their residence for months or years. The distinction matters because short-term letting triggers a separate set of planning, mortgage, lease and tax rules that ordinary buy-to-let does not.

Quick FAQ:

Q: Is renting a spare room the same as running a short-term let?

A: Not quite. Letting a room in your own main home occasionally is treated more lightly, and may qualify for the Rent a Room scheme. A short-term let usually means letting a whole property, or letting so regularly that it becomes the property's main use, which is where the stricter rules apply.

The four gates every short let must pass

Before a property can earn short-let income, it has to clear four separate checks. Any single one can block it, so all four need a yes.

The two that catch investors out most often are the mortgage and the lease. A standard buy-to-let mortgage is written for assured shorthold tenancies, and most lenders treat short-term or holiday letting as a breach unless you hold a specific holiday-let mortgage. Leaseholds are the other trap: many apartment leases contain a clause requiring the property to be used only as a private residence, or expressly banning lettings of less than a set period, and breaching it can bring action from the freeholder. Always read the mortgage terms and the lease before you list.

Quick FAQ:

Q: Can my freeholder really stop me letting on Airbnb?

A: Yes, if the lease forbids it. Courts have upheld leases that restrict a flat to use as a private residence, ruling that short-term platform lettings breach that clause. Check your lease wording, and if in doubt ask a solicitor before you advertise.

Short-term let vs traditional letting: what's the difference?

A short-term let earns its income from short, repeat stays. You let the property by the night or week to guests who are not living there, usually through platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com. The gross income per night can be higher than a standard rent, but it comes with more work and more variables: bookings rise and fall with the season, every changeover means cleaning and admin, and you carry the void nights yourself. It suits hands-on owners in locations with genuine visitor or business-travel demand, and it is the model most exposed to the planning, mortgage, lease and licensing rules covered above.

Traditional letting, a standard assured shorthold tenancy, works the opposite way. You let the property to one tenant who makes it their home, typically for six to twelve months or longer, at a fixed monthly rent. The headline income is usually lower than a fully booked short let, but it is steadier and far less hands-on: no nightly turnovers, fewer void periods, and a much lighter regulatory load, since the short-let planning and licensing rules do not apply. It suits investors who want predictable income and a quieter hold, which is why it remains the default for most buy-to-let purchases.

Neither model is automatically better; the right one depends on the property, the location and how involved you want to be. At Rothmore we work with both, and our in-house management team supports investors across short-term and traditional letting, so the strategy can be matched to the asset rather than the other way round. If you are weighing the two for a specific property, contact us to discuss the options.

London's 90-night rule and the new C5 class

London has its own rule that catches many first-time hosts. Under the Deregulation Act 2015, which updated the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, you can use a London home as short-term sleeping accommodation for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission. Go beyond 90 nights and you are treated as making a material change of use, which needs planning consent from the local council. Outside London, no equivalent nightly cap applies at national level, though individual councils in tourist areas can and do impose their own controls.

The wider direction of travel is tighter regulation, not looser. The government has confirmed a new planning use class, Class C5 for short-term lets, defined as the use of a dwelling that is not a sole or main residence for temporary sleeping accommodation. A property you live in stays in the standard C3 residential class even if you let it occasionally, but a dedicated short let falls into C5. Existing dedicated short lets are being reclassified automatically, while new permitted development rights will govern switching a home into or out of short-let use, with councils able to withdraw those rights locally.

Quick FAQ:

Q: Does the new C5 class mean I need planning permission to run a short let?

A: Not automatically. Existing dedicated short lets are being moved into C5 without an application, and permitted development rights are designed to allow switching in many cases. But councils can remove those rights in their area, so the safe step is to check your local planning position before committing.

The 2025 tax change you cannot ignore

For years, a qualifying holiday let enjoyed a favourable tax status through the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime, which treated it more like a trade than a rental. That regime has ended. According to HMRC guidance, the special Furnished Holiday Lettings rules were abolished from 6 April 2025 for income tax and capital gains tax, and from 1 April 2025 for corporation tax. In practice, short lets are now taxed under the same rules as ordinary property lettings, so the old advantages, such as full mortgage-interest deduction and certain capital gains reliefs, no longer apply on that basis.

The takeaway for investors is simple: any calculator, brochure or older article that still models holiday-let returns on the FHL tax perks is out of date. Model your numbers on the current rules, and confirm your position with a qualified accountant before you buy.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Property, planning and tax rules change and depend on your circumstances, so confirm your position with a qualified accountant, solicitor or the relevant council before you commit.

Where short-term lets are easiest

Put the four gates together and a pattern emerges. Short lets are hardest in central London, where the 90-night cap, high leasehold density and intense competition all bite at once. They are more workable in regional cities, where there is no nightly cap, strong visitor and business demand, and a deeper supply of purpose-built apartments. Cities like Liverpool and Manchester combine year-round demand with lighter planning constraints than the capital, which is why flexible letting strategies tend to be easier to run there.

That said, the direction of policy is toward more oversight everywhere, so the smart approach is to buy property that works as a strong standard rental first, then treat short-let income as an upside rather than the whole business case. A quality city-centre apartment with real tenant demand keeps its options open whatever the rules do next.

Explore: The Forge, Liverpool

A new-build development in Liverpool's Pumpfields regeneration zone, The Forge offers modern furnished apartments built for the city's strong renter base. In a regional city without London's nightly cap, it suits investors who want flexible, city-centre letting options.

View The Forge, Liverpool >