By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Usually not outside London, unless the letting amounts to a material change of use or an Article 4 direction covers your address; in Greater London an entire home can be short-let for up to 90 nights per year before planning permission is needed. In Scottish control areas, converting a whole property also needs permission — confirm your address with the council.
The general position in England
Outside London there is no national night cap on short letting, and letting a property short-term does not automatically need planning permission. What can trigger it is a material change of use — where the character of the use has changed enough that it is no longer genuinely a dwelling house.
That is a judgement rather than a bright line, and councils apply it differently. Intensity, frequency, the number of guests, noise and the effect on neighbours all feed into it.
A registration scheme for short-term lets in England has been legislated for and is expected to follow. It is separate from planning permission and does not replace it.
London: the 90-night rule
Greater London is the clear exception. Under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015, you may let an entire residential property on short lets for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission. Beyond that, letting requires permission for a change of use.
The platforms enforce this automatically — Airbnb caps London entire-home listings at 90 nights per year unless you can evidence permission.
Stays of 90 nights or more to a single occupier fall outside the rule, which is why a workable London plan is usually a mix of short and medium-term stays rather than short lets alone.
Article 4 directions
A local authority can make an Article 4 direction removing permitted development rights in a defined area. Where one applies to short-term letting, the change of use that would otherwise have been permitted now needs an application.
These are made locally, they vary street by street in some boroughs, and they are the single most common reason a plan that looked fine falls over. Check whether one covers your specific address rather than the town.
Some councils have also consulted on a separate planning use class for short lets, which would change the position again.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Scotland requires a short-term let licence from the council for every short-term let — a separate requirement from planning. In designated control areas, changing a whole property to short-term letting also needs planning permission.
Wales operates its own arrangements, with statutory licensing legislated for and council tax premium powers that vary sharply between authorities.
Northern Ireland requires certification from Tourism NI before accommodation can be advertised or let, which is a genuine gate rather than a formality.
Our licensing guide covers each nation in more detail.
What to check, and in what order
All of these can be checked before you spend anything, and each has ended plans that looked excellent on paper.
Start with the lease if the property is leasehold — restrictions on subletting, short-term occupation, business use and holiday letting are separate clauses and permission on one does not imply the others. Then the mortgage, because a buy-to-let product usually permits letting on a tenancy specifically, which short letting is not. Then the council, for Article 4, licensing and the local position on change of use.
We check the position for a specific address before anything is listed. It is the most common reason we tell an owner a property does not work.
A plain summary of a complex and changing area, not planning or legal advice. The position depends on your specific address. Confirm with the local planning authority before letting.