Short-term lets being rented unlawfully

Research from Central London Forward has found that over half of London’s short-term holiday let properties are being unlawfully rented out. The report from the partnership of inner city boroughs found that, of the 117,000 short-term lets listed in London in 2024, over 50% were booked for over 90 days in a year, which is a breach of the regulations.

“This concentration has a profound effect on our local communities,” Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug said. A spokesperson for the government said that a registration scheme will be introduced to “reap the benefits of a thriving tourist economy while protecting the spirit of our communities.”

Legally, landlords cannot rent out their homes in London for over 90 nights in a year, according to the regulations. They must receive planning permission from the council in order to do so.

Westminster was “at the epicentre of the problem,” Mr Hug said, adding that short-term lets were concentrated in “the West End, Bayswater, Lancaster Gate and parts of Pimlico.”

“It can hollow out long-term residents, making neighbours subject to significant noise disruption, fly-tipped waste linked to short-term let properties,” he added. “But it also impacts the council services which have to pick up the waste, respond to the noise complaints and deal with pressure in the local housing market, as we see private rents rise year on year.”

The report also found that the number of short-term lets has risen over the last decade. In 2015, there were less than 30,000 in London. By 2016, that had more than doubled, peaking at 100,000 in 2019. The numbers “fell dramatically” at the height of the pandemic in 2020, the report said, before making a “steady recovery.”

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