The London 90-night rule

Status: IN FORCE (since 26 May 2015) — Last checked: 2026-07-28 — Primary source: legislation.gov.uk, Deregulation Act 2015 s.44

Section 44, not section 45

Citations for this rule are frequently wrong, so it is worth settling first. The operative provision is section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015, "Short-term use of London accommodation: relaxation of restrictions", which inserts new sections 25A and 25B into the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973. It came into force on 26 May 2015.

Section 45 is a different provision, "Short-term use of London accommodation: power to relax restrictions", giving the Secretary of State a power to make regulations disapplying section 25(1) of the 1973 Act. It creates no 90-night rule of its own.

GOV.UK's national Planning Practice Guidance states the position in one sentence:

"Section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended by section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015, allows properties in London, which are liable for council tax, to be let out on a short-term basis for a maximum of 90 nights per calendar year without this being considered a material change of use for which planning permission is required."

The starting position: section 25 of the 1973 Act

Section 25 makes the use of residential premises in Greater London as "temporary sleeping accommodation" a material change of use, requiring planning permission. The explanatory notes to the Deregulation Act 2015 describe it as restricting "the use of residential premises in the 32 London boroughs and the City as temporary sleeping accommodation", and give the statutory definition:

"Sleeping accommodation which is occupied by the same person for less than ninety consecutive nights and which is provided (with or without services) for a consideration arising either by way of trade for money or money's worth, or by reason of the employment of the occupant."

A point that is routinely conflated: there are two different nineties here. The ninety in the definition is ninety consecutive nights of occupation by the same person — the test for whether a letting is "temporary sleeping accommodation" at all. The ninety in the exemption is ninety nights in a calendar year across all such lettings. A long single stay can fall outside the definition entirely while a run of weekend lets sits squarely inside it.

(The 1973 Act is held by legislation.gov.uk only as a scanned PDF, so this definition is quoted from the official explanatory notes to the 2015 Act.)

The exemption: the two conditions in section 25A

Section 25A, as inserted by section 44, provides that use as temporary sleeping accommodation does not involve a material change of use where two conditions are both met.

First condition — the 90 nights:

"the sum of—(a) the number of nights of use as temporary sleeping accommodation, and (b) the number of nights (if any) of each previous use of the premises as temporary sleeping accommodation in the same calendar year, does not exceed ninety."

Second condition — council tax. For each night counted, the person providing the accommodation must have been "liable to pay council tax under Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in respect of the premises"; where more than one person provided it, "at least one of those persons was liable to pay council tax". The explanatory notes add that this "would therefore include people who are liable to council tax but are in receipt of a discount". The Greater London Authority states the same two conditions plainly: the total "must not add up to more than 90 nights in a calendar year (1 January to 31 December)", and "at least one of the persons providing the accommodation must be liable to pay Council Tax at the property".

How the counting works

• The count attaches to the premises, not to the operator. Section 25A counts "each previous use of the premises" in the same calendar year, and the explanatory notes use the same phrase — "the same premises". Where a property changes hands, or two people let the same flat, the nights aggregate against the property.
• The counter resets on 1 January. The statutory unit is the calendar year, not a rolling twelve months and not the tax year.
• It counts nights of use, not bookings — every night the premises are in use as temporary sleeping accommodation, on any platform or none.

Directions disapplying the exemption

Section 25B allows the exemption to be switched off: "the local planning authority or the Secretary of State may direct that section 25A is not to apply—(a) to particular residential premises specified in the direction; (b) to residential premises situated in a particular area specified in the direction". A direction may only be given where the authority "considers that it is necessary to protect the amenity of the locality". Directions are local, so the position on a given building or area can differ from the general rule.

Enforcement

Exceeding 90 nights without planning permission is an unauthorised material change of use, handled through the ordinary planning enforcement route: an enforcement notice, then prosecution if it is not complied with. Section 179(8) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 states that a person guilty of the offence "shall be liable on summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine". The section specifies no maximum, and requires the court to "have regard to any financial benefit which has accrued or appears likely to accrue to him in consequence of the offence". Tower Hamlets puts it as: "Non-compliance with an Enforcement Notice is a criminal offence and anyone found guilty could face an unlimited fine in the Magistrates' or Crown Court." Enforcement is discretionary.

What platform caps do and do not do

Airbnb states that it "automatically limits entire home listings in Greater London to 90 nights a year", unless the host holds planning permission. Two limits on that: the cap applies to entire home listings, and counts only nights booked through Airbnb. Section 25A counts nights of use of the premises, so a property at 90 nights on Airbnb plus 40 booked elsewhere is at 130 nights for legal purposes while showing as compliant on the platform.

Commonly stated, not verified against primary legislation

That section 25 bites even where only part of the premises is let — for example a single room let while the resident host remains in occupation. London boroughs and commercial legal publishers state this, and it is the better reading, but the 1973 Act text is a scanned PDF and the point could not be confirmed against the primary source on 28 July 2026. It is the opposite of the frequently repeated claim that host-present room lets fall outside the rule; that claim has no verified basis.

Software that helps

• Compliance and licensing tools, and property management systems, that count let-nights per property per calendar year. This is the single capability the rule demands, and few products advertise it. What matters is whether the count is per property, resets on 1 January, and includes direct bookings alongside every connected channel — a per-listing or per-platform counter does not answer the legal question.
• Channel managers, because a night count is only correct if every channel and the direct calendar feed into one place.

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This is a general guide based on published government sources, last checked 2026-07-28. It is not legal or tax advice.