The 90 Day Rule and How It Impacts Short Let Properties in London

Who Does it Apply To?

The 90 Day Rule, formerly known as Airbnb's 90-Day Limit in London, only applies to property owners within the Greater London area. If your property is outside of the Greater London area, it does not apply.

What is the 90 Day Rule and What Does It Mean for You?

The 90-day lettings limit was introduced in 2017 in London to help regulate the sharing economy.

In essence, the rule means that a property in London cannot be rented out for more than 90 days per calendar year on a 'short let' basis. If a property reaches the 90-day limit, Airbnb will automatically close the booking capacity until the end of the year.

The 90-day limit applies to both 90 consecutive days or 90 days spread throughout the year. Notably, it does NOT apply to bookings of 90 days or more, so these do not count towards the limit.

Anyone who goes against the 90 Day Rule and fails to meet the permit requirements may be subject to a fine of up to £20,000.

Reasons and Context for It's Introduction

Airbnb introduced the 90-Day Airbnb Rule in January 2017 to legalise short-term lets and holiday rentals in the Greater London area. Prior to the rule, homeowners were required to obtain planning permission from the local council to rent their property for less than 90 days due to the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, which prohibited any short lets in the area.

The rise of the sharing economy and the popularity of platforms like Airbnb led to a thriving global home-sharing industry. In response, the Deregulation Act 2015 was introduced to relax the previous rules and allow homeowners to benefit from the income generated by short-term rentals without requiring planning permission.

Under the Deregulation Act, homeowners in London can rent out their property for up to 90 nights per year without seeking permission from the local council. This has provided a boost to the sharing economy in London while ensuring compliance with regulations, allowing homeowners to benefit from the income generated by short-term rentals.

Is It Possible to Bypass the 90 day Rule?

In short, no it is not. This limit is in place to ensure that there is a balance between long term rentals in the city and the benefit to the tourism and business travel from short term lettings.

However, there are alternative strategies that can help property owners maximise their earnings while staying within the regulations.

Our strategy is to use a combination of different letting types, such as medium and long-term rentals, to fill the rest of the year after the 90-day limit has been reached. These do not count towards the 90 day total.

Smartlets can also help by integrating your listing with multiple booking channels to give a single view of your calendar for the year and to optimise between booking websites, while staying compliant with the regulation.

For example, some property owners list their property on Airbnb during the summer months and then rent it out to corporate or longer-term travellers for the rest of the year. With the rise of remote work and digital nomads, there is a growing demand for longer-term rentals from individuals looking to join communities for 3-6 months. Airbnb has also recently added a functionality for longer term bookings as well.

Get in touch with us to discuss how we can help.

**This blog post is intended to highlight just some of the key issues involved with home sharing and short letting. It should not be taken as legal advice. If unclear on regulations in your city, you should always read up on the relevant authority websites and/or seek professional legal advice.**