Work stays that run for weeks
Contractors, agency nurses, project teams and people relocating for a new job book London homes for weeks or months at a time, and the homes we run in London are set up for exactly that kind of stay.
Airbnb and short-let management in London
We run homes in Islington, Hendon, Forest Gate and Harrow ourselves, so this page is written from London guests and London bookings, not from a desk study. London is also the one place in England where a whole-home short let is capped at 90 nights a year without planning permission, and that rule shapes every plan we write for a London landlord.
The key facts for London landlords
- Management fee: from 22% down to 14% of gross booking revenue — most landlords start at 20% on a six-month term with one home
- Getting started: a one-off setup fee from £570 (rises with bedroom count) plus £80 a month per property for the software that runs the let; onboarding typically completes 5–7 days from key collection
- VAT: our fees include VAT at the standard rate
- These are the prices for new agreements: if you are already with us, the terms of your own agreement apply
- Also recharged at cost: cleaning, laundry, linen, platform commission and card processing — itemised on your monthly statement
- You are paid by the 10th of the following month
- Listings: live on Airbnb and our own direct booking site, plus the other channels we connect
Correct as of 12 November 2026. Full details on the rate card.
Greater London
What actually drives short-let demand in London
Who books, and why they keep booking.
Hospitals, universities and big projects
London's teaching hospitals, universities and regeneration schemes bring locum doctors, visiting academics and construction crews into the city all year, and many of them want a whole home with a kitchen rather than a hotel room.
Stadiums, arenas and the West End
Event dates at Wembley, the Olympic Park and the O2, plus the theatres and museums of central London, bring families and groups who want more space than a hotel room for a weekend or a week.
Transport that reaches the outer boroughs
The Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line let guests stay in places like Hendon, Harrow or Forest Gate and still reach central London or a work site, so a good home in an outer borough can compete with one in zone 1.
Through the year
When London is busy — and when it is not
Busiest: Summer and the run-up to Christmas for visitors, event dates at Wembley and the Olympic Park, and steady weekday work bookings that do not follow the tourist calendar.
Quietest: January and early February are the softest weeks in London, and with the 90-night cap a whole-home short let has to earn its nights rather than fill every gap with short breaks.
We would rather show you the quiet months than hide them. A projection that only shows peak season is not a projection. It is the fastest way to end up disappointed.
Homes we run here
The London homes we run ourselves
Every home below is one we run today. Each has its own page on our guest site, so you can see exactly how we would present your property before you hand it to us.
Islington, N1
Homes off Caledonian Road, including a studio that suits one or two people working in King's Cross, Clerkenwell or the City. The Overground is a four-minute walk.
Hendon, NW4
A two-bedroom flat that sleeps six, set up for families and for contractors working along the M1 corridor, Brent Cross and Colindale.
Forest Gate, E7
A two-bedroom flat on one level that sleeps five, with one free, unreserved space on a shared forecourt. A practical base for work in Newham, the Olympic Park and the Royal Docks.
Harrow, HA2
A two-bedroom house over two floors that sleeps five, with a washing machine, garden access and free street parking that is usually available.
Long stays in London
Our London guest page shows how we sell these homes to contractors, placements and relocations: matched to the work site, priced over the whole stay.
When we last checked our Airbnb host profile, on 14 September 2026, it showed 4.48 out of 5 from 126 guest reviews, across the homes we run now and some we ran before. Read a selection of the reviews.
Getting started
From first call to first booking
Assuming your London property is furnished and compliant, this is the realistic timeline.
1
Pre-onboarding
You get the interiors ready and kit the property out against the checklist we provide.
2
Sign-up
Contract read and signed, onboarding fee paid, and the onboarding documents completed.
3
Onboarding
We build the listings, set up the back end, write the guest guide, install the devices and plan the pricing.
4
Photography
Professional photography, plus the final staging — making the beds and adding the decor that makes a listing work.
5
Launch
Edited images go onto the listings and we hit launch. First guests usually arrive within a few days of going live.
As a general rule onboarding completes within 5 to 7 days of us collecting the keys. It can vary with photographer availability and how many properties are going through onboarding at the time. If the property still needs furnishing or certificates, add that time at the front — we will tell you what is outstanding before you commit. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, add the time for the short-term let licence or Tourism NI certificate, which is measured in months and has to be in place before we can take bookings.
What onboarding covers
- CCTV and noise alarm installation, and a key safe
- Health and safety checks, floor and escape plan, and a check that your certificates are in date
- Guest guide creation and in-house information points
- Listing creation across every channel we connect, plus direct booking
- Staging items and professional marketing photography
Any security devices we install remain the property of UnityStays.
What it does not cover
- Fire risk assessment. Essential for every short let. Smaller properties can often be self-assessed; larger ones need a professional; the quotes we have seen are around £350, but get your own. We can introduce you to an assessor.
- Interior design. Not part of standard onboarding — that stage is yours, though we do offer it as an add-on if you would rather hand it over.
Both are real costs. We would rather you saw them here than found them later.
Know what you are buying
Full management and listing-only are not the same product
Both are sold as "Airbnb management". Only one of them takes the work off you. Ask any agency in London which of these columns they are quoting for.
Listing-only
- Your listing is created and published
- Pricing may be set, often only at the start
- You answer the guests
- You book and check the cleans
- You handle check-in problems and repairs
- You chase damage and deposits
Cheaper on paper. The work has not gone anywhere — it has stayed with you.
Full management — what we do
- Listing built and optimised across the channels we connect
- Pricing adjusted daily against live London demand
- Guests ID-checked, and messages answered by our team
- Cleaning, linen and consumables arranged every stay
- Maintenance coordinated through local trades
- A deposit or damage waiver on direct bookings, and a monthly statement
One management fee, from 14% to 22%, plus a one-off setup fee (from £570) and £80 a month per property for the software that runs the let. Cleaning, linen and platform commission are paid by us and recharged at cost, itemised on your monthly statement.
Before you let
The 90-night rule applies in London
The rules for London — the part that decides whether a short let is possible at all.
- In London you can let a whole property short-term for 90 nights a year without planning permission for a change of use, but only for nights on which the person providing the accommodation is liable for council tax on the property — so the exception does not apply if the property has moved onto business rates.
- The platforms enforce this automatically — Airbnb caps London listings at 90 nights unless you can evidence permission.
- A single stay of 90 or more consecutive nights to the same guest falls outside the rule altogether, because it is no longer temporary sleeping accommodation. Ninety nights split across separate stays still counts towards the cap.
- A London borough can direct, with the Secretary of State's consent, that the 90-night exception does not apply to particular premises or to premises in a specified area, so the local position is worth checking with the borough for the specific address.
This is not a reason to avoid London. It is a reason to plan the booking mix around it.
A plain summary of the position as we understand it as of 12 November 2026, not legal advice, and rules change. We confirm the requirements for your specific London address with the local authority before anything is listed.
Worth knowing
The furnished holiday lettings rules have changed
The Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime was abolished from April 2025. If you have read older guidance about short lets being more tax-efficient than a standard tenancy, that guidance is out of date. In outline, what changed:
- Finance costs — mortgage interest relief is now restricted to the basic rate, as it already was for standard lettings
- Capital allowances on furniture and equipment are no longer available in the same way
- Certain capital gains reliefs that applied to FHLs no longer apply
- Short-let profits no longer count as relevant earnings for pension contribution purposes
This does not mean short letting stopped working. It means the case now rests on gross income and occupancy rather than on a tax break. That is what the projection we prepare for your London property sets out.
This is a plain summary of a public tax change, not tax advice. Your position depends on your circumstances — speak to your accountant before making a decision on that basis.
One clear fee
What management costs in London
from14%most landlords start at 20%, on a six-month term with one home
Commit for longer or place more homes and the fee comes down. Alongside it: a one-off setup fee from £570 per property, £80 a month per property for the software that runs the let, and the cost of cleaning, linen and platform commission, which we pay and recharge at cost. All of it is itemised on one monthly statement, and you are paid by the 10th of the following month.
Where is my property listed?
Your property goes live on Airbnb and our own booking site, plus the other channels we connect. We can add further channels where they suit the property.
How is the pricing set?
Rates move daily with London demand rather than sitting at a fixed nightly figure all year.
Who deals with the guests?
We do — ID checks, and a deposit or damage waiver on direct bookings, with guest messaging handled by our team, so most problems never reach you.
Who handles the turnovers?
Local cleaners, fresh linen and consumables between every stay, arranged by us.
No surprises
What comes off the payout
The management fee buys the management. Your London property still has running costs, and we would rather you saw them here than found them on a first statement.
- Cleaning and laundry — arranged and paid by us after every stay, then recharged at what it cost
- Linen — supplied through our linen provider and charged at cost
- Platform commission and card processing — what Airbnb, Booking.com and the payment providers take, passed through at cost
- The software that runs the let — £80 a month per property, covering guest screening, channel management and dynamic pricing
All of it is itemised on one monthly statement showing gross booking revenue and every deduction, and the balance reaches your account by the 10th of the following month.
Some costs never come to us at all. Utilities, council tax or business rates, the TV licence and broadband stay with you, as do contractor invoices for repairs, which you settle directly. You will also need buildings and contents cover suitable for short letting, with £1m public liability.
Cleaning is charged per changeover rather than per week, so it moves with how many bookings there were rather than how many nights. On a property doing short stays that is the largest single line after the management fee, which is why the income calculator asks you for it rather than leaving it out.
Read next
Before you decide on London
Start with our management fees and rate card, try the Airbnb income calculator, or talk to us about your property. Then explore the guides below.
- Is short letting worth it? — an honest comparison against a standard tenancy, including when the long let wins
- What a management fee actually buys — what sits inside the percentage and what does not
- Short-let licensing across the UK — the rules by nation, and why the answer differs so much
- Short-let insurance — why your existing landlord policy probably does not cover this
- Fire safety and compliance — the checks that make a short let lawful
- Council tax or business rates? — the letting thresholds, and what happens if you miss them
- Switching from a tenancy — what actually has to happen, in the order it needs doing
- How to read a statement — every deduction line, and what to ask when one does not add up
Straight answers
What London landlords ask first
Yes — we take on properties in London. We already run homes in Islington, Hendon, Forest Gate and Harrow ourselves.
Between 22% and 14% of gross booking revenue, depending on how long you commit for and how many homes you place. Most landlords start at 20% on a six-month term for a single property. A one-off setup fee also applies, from £570 for a one-bedroom property and rising with the number of bedrooms, plus £80 a month per property for the software that runs the let — guest screening, channel management and dynamic pricing.
Every market has them. January and early February are the softest weeks in London, and with the 90-night cap a whole-home short let has to earn its nights rather than fill every gap with short breaks. We price for it rather than pretend it does not happen, and your projection will show the low months as well as the peak.
No. You set the ground rules — minimum stay, whether pets are accepted, blocked dates for your own use. Larger repairs and works are agreed with you first.
In London you can let a whole property short-term for 90 nights a year without planning permission for a change of use, but only for nights on which the person providing the accommodation is liable for council tax on the property — so the exception does not apply if the property has moved onto business rates. We confirm the requirements for your specific address with the local authority before anything goes live.
Typically within a fortnight of the paperwork being signed, assuming the property is furnished and compliant. Photography, listing build and channel setup are the long poles.
Short stays in a whole London home count towards the 90-night limit, and Airbnb caps London listings at 90 nights unless you can show planning permission. A single stay of 90 or more consecutive nights to the same guest falls outside the rule. Longer work and relocation stays are what our own London homes are set up for, and we plan your calendar around the rule with you before anything goes live.
Everything is itemised on one monthly statement, and you are paid by the 10th of the following month. Cleaning, linen and platform commission are passed through at cost and shown line by line, so you can see what came off and why.
When we last checked our Airbnb host profile, on 14 September 2026, it showed 4.48 out of 5 from 126 guest reviews, across the homes we run now and some we ran before. The reviews page on our guest site shows a selection of them.
Being honest
When we are not the right fit
- You want a long-term tenant and steady monthly rent — that is a letting agent's job, not ours.
- You live close by, have the time, and genuinely do not mind the messaging and turnovers. Self-managing keeps you the whole fee.
- The numbers do not clear the fee. Some properties will not out-earn a standard tenancy once management, cleaning and voids are counted. Our projection will say so.
Next step
What could your London property earn?
We will prepare a projection for your address — including the quieter months — before you commit to anything.