What we know about plans for Airbnb rule changes

Yahoo

2 days ago

A newly proposed law could push for a major crackdown on holiday rentals and tougher regulations, in a step towards 'restoring fairness' in the housing system in Cornwall and the wider southwest.
The 'AirBnB Bill', which does not only target AirBnBs but refers to all short-term lettings, was proposed on 3 June by Ben Maguire MP for North Cornwall. It is aimed at home owners who let their properties to holidaymakers.
In a tweet on social media platform, X, Maguire shared that the Bill will include requirements for planning permission before homes can become short-term lets, in an attempt 'to put a stop to the avoidance of paying council tax'.
'It's a simple change with a big impact," the tweet read, 'enough is enough.'
Council Tax is one of many factors that have contributed to authorities mulling a crackdown in other areas of the country too. Brighton and Hove City Council revealed last week it is considering tougher regulations on holiday lets, amid an ongoing housing shortage.
The council's report from 25 March revealed that as many as 6,000 homes are being used as holiday rentals in the city, and that some short-term holiday lets could be exploiting tax loopholes, with an estimate of £6bn in undeclared tax nationally.
Other cities considering a crackdown include Cornwall, Whitby, Whitstable, St Ives and St Davids.
Some reasons for the consideration include noise-nuisance, anti-social behaviour, pressure on limited parking, disrupting rubbish collection due to incorrect disposal and lack of correct fire and gas safety measures which endangers visitors.
With MPs and councillors exploring ways to better regulate short-term rentals, Yahoo outlines the rules on renting out your home as a holiday let in the UK...
In the UK, a holiday rental is referred to as a furnished holiday letting (FHL) according to GOV.UK, with many people using sites such as Airbnb, Tripadvisor, Booking.com and Agoda to rent out their homes.
For your home to qualify as a FHL in England and Northern Ireland, it must be fully furnished and made available to rent by the public as furnished accommodation for at least 210 days in the year, and must be actually rented for at least 105 days in the year.
For individual lettings in England, which is when renting fees are set for each room or per person, stays cannot exceed 31 days without requiring a formal tenancy agreement. In London, short-term lets cannot exceed a total of 90 days in the calendar year without planning permission – there are similar specific planning regulations in other areas outside of the capital.
The rules for renting your property as a holiday let can differ depending on your local council or region, be sure to check the regulations.
In Scotland and Wales, a home qualifies as a FHL when it's available for short-term lettings for at least 252 nights in a year and is actually let for at least 182 nights.
Home owners in Scotland, who are looking to rent out their properties as holiday lets, are required to get a licence as part of the Short Term Accommodation Licensing scheme, which came into effect on 1 January 2025.
The scheme offers four different types of licences, which last for three years and can take up to 12 months to process:
Secondary letting – letting accommodation that isn't your principal home
Home letting – letting your principal home when you're not there
Home sharing – letting part of your principal home when you're not there
Home letting and home sharing
If you have more than one property – and they don't all have the same address – you will need a licence for each one.
In January 2024, the Welsh Government announced plans to introduce a registration scheme and a licensing scheme in 2025, with aims for these to be set nationally, simple to use, cost effective and enable automatic/instant approval of properties.
As of April 2025, the tax benefits that FHL qualifiers were entitled to were abolished, meaning that holiday lets are now taxed in the same way as other residential rental properties rather than under the previous business rates.
The Bill is aiming to close a "damaging loophole" that currently allows second home owners to convert their properties into short-term holiday lets without planning oversight. Maguire claims this has been adding to the housing shortages and undermining council tax obligations.
If passed, the new rule could include a requirement for planning permission before any property can become a holiday let. This is a permit or form of authorisation for building-related projects, which makes sure that it complies with planning policies and regulations.
This could mean that homeowners who let their properties short-term will be required to get planning permission from their Local Planning Authority, which will decide whether or not to grant permission.
The decision can be based on multiple factors, ranging from the impact this could have on the area, to how it aligns with their development plans for the area. Planning permission is already required for short-term lets in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales - England is set to require the same.
Maguire described the Bill as "a targeted and fair proposal" with the goal to "give power back to local authorities, and protect our communities."
"I'm hopeful that the Government will take this issue as seriously as it deserves. Together, we make it very clear: enough is enough," he said.
In 2024, it is estimated that there were about 451,000 available short-term rental properties on platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com in the UK.
Additionally, a survey revealed that 4.5 million properties had been used for short-term lets at some point in the last two years – this is equivalent to 19% of the UK's housing stock.
Carl Thomson, public policy manager for Airbnb UK, says short-term lets have been "bringing the benefits of tourism to all".
"Calls to impose restrictions, red tape and fees only protect hotel chains' profits at the expense of local families," he said. "Two thirds of UK Airbnb hosts also say the additional income helps them keep up with the rising cost of living."
This map shows how many properties are being let as holiday homes near you:
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