The 90-Day Rule and what this means to you
Posted on 6th May 2021 at 15:23
With Airbnb applying a ‘90-day limit’ on short-let accommodation within London as of January 2017, many London hosts have considered skirting the law and risking a £20,000 fine by listing their properties on a variety of other short-let websites such as Pass the Keys, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, etc. (Source: www.gov.uk). Read on as we dive a little bit deeper into the 90-day limit and how it can be managed.
What is the 90-day limit?
Airbnb imposed a 90-day limit on ‘entire house' listings within the Greater London area during January 2017, a limit that has since become known as the ‘90-Day Airbnb Rule.' The rule ensures that a property cannot be rented out on Airbnb for more than 90 days in a year. Once the cap has been reached, Airbnb will automatically close bookings for your property until the end of the calendar year. The 90-day cap applies to either 90 consecutive days, or 90 days spread over the course of the year.
At the time of writing this, only Greater London is subject to the 90-day rule. There is currently no such limit in place in any other UK area, but it is under ongoing consideration.
Why does the 90-day limit exist?
The 90-day Airbnb law was put in place to legalise short-term rentals in London; previously, homeowners had to apply for planning permission to operate short-term or holiday rentals via their homes. This was due to the 1973 Greater London Council (General Powers) Act implementing a London law that did not permit any short stay in the Greater London region (a single stay of less than 90 days).
A prosperous worldwide home sharing industry has since arisen from websites like Airbnb. The ‘Deregulation Act 2015’ was introduced to loosen the rules and recognise the advantages that the home sharing model offers to homeowners, visitors and local economies. House owners can now rent out their property for short periods of time without the permission of the local authority, for up to 90 nights a year.
What do people think of the rule?
Argument for:
A number argue that it’s a good idea to restrict the number of days a property can be "short-let" because it provides councils and local communities with leverage over what is taking place in their neighbourhoods. The effect of short letting on housing supplies also concerns people. While this is a heated topic, research published by the Institute for Public Policy Research indicates that it has little effect.
Argument against:
Others claim that people should not be restricted to a set amount of days on which a property is short-let because this is unfair to homeowners who are away from their home for longer periods of time, and that it’s more important to concentrate on responsible hosting – ensuring that visitors follow rules and are respectful of communities. This too, is a lively debate.
What Tempstay thinks:
We support regulation because we believe that community control and visibility are relevant. We believe that 90 days is a little too short, however; other major cities, such as Paris, have set the limit at 120 days. Most of our hosts are away from their homes for more than 90 days and are unable to list their homes on the residential market because they must come and go on a regular basis. We agree that the benefits to the group greatly outweigh any negative aspects of hosting, so that's what we focus on.
How can Tempstay help you manage the 90-day limit?
Tempstay is dedicated to offering a forward-thinking, responsible, and long-term solution to home sharing. As experts in our profession, we understand how important it is to follow the rules in each city where we conduct business, London included.
We optimise the letting period by using a mixture of long term, short term, and holiday lets to help property owners in London navigate the Airbnb 90-day Rule while maximising their earnings. To help our hosts make the most of their properties, we also host the listing through multiple platforms.
We also find long-term tenants on traditional AST contracts. This is the perfect option for hosts who want to rent out their home for more than 90 days and maximise their profits over the course of a year while adhering to all of the requisite rules and regulations.
Since we are able to fill calendar gaps and take advantage of higher-rate holiday lets during peak seasons, optimising the letting cycle in this way helps hosts to earn more money than conventional long-term letting.
When it comes to the 90-day limit, it's vital to be conscious and compliant, but regulation is a positive thing overall, and there's still plenty of room to profit via diversifying through different letting types. This fusion of letting styles can be customised to the property host’s requirements, and our experienced team will create and manage a cycle that works best for the property.
For more news, tips and guides on serviced accommodation, follow us on (social media)
Tagged as: airbnb, corporate accommodation, landlords, london, Porperty Listing Problems, short term rental, uk
Share this post: