Short-term let rules in Liverpool (updated 29 Oct 2026)

No licensing or local registration scheme. A national short-term let register for England is coming under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023; GOV.UK (updated 2 Oct 2026) says it is expected to begin in March 2027.

Until then, the main local rules are council tax or business rates, planning, and fire safety. Liverpool's selective landlord licensing scheme (designated wards covering about 80% of the city's private rented homes, 1 Apr 2022 to 31 Mar 2027) is for rented homes, not holiday lets: the national exemptions order exempts a tenancy or licence granted to someone for their occupancy of a home "as a holiday home".

The council's own pages do not mention short lets specifically and point to the GOV.UK list of exemptions, so if a property is ever let to someone as their home (for example a longer let or a lodger arrangement) it may need a licence.

Check with the council through its LAR portal or privatesector.housing@liverpool.gov.uk. HMO licensing (5 or more people from 2 or more households living there) is separate.

The current scheme ends in March 2027. In a 10-week consultation that closed on 5 Oct 2026 the council asked for views on three options for a future scheme (citywide, 64 wards; 29 wards based on deprivation; or 26 wards based on poor property conditions), plus licence conditions, fees and discounts; no decision had been published when we checked on 28 Oct 2026 (council news, Liverpool Express).

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No short-let control area or Article 4 direction for short lets found (searched 24 Oct 2026), including in the city centre. Liverpool's Article 4 directions control converting homes into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), not holiday lets: in the existing areas (the 11 Wards and The Dales directions) you need planning permission to turn a home into an HMO for 3 or more people.

On 13 Oct 2026 Cabinet approved wider HMO directions (5 areas covering parts of 17 wards straight away, the rest of the city from Oct 2027), but the decision was called in on 20 Oct 2026 and is paused for now. A whole home let to one group of visitors is not an HMO, so these do not by themselves cover short lets.

Whether letting a whole home short term is a material change of use is decided case by case. The council's draft new Local Plan (Regulation 18 draft, Sep to Nov 2025) included a planned short-term let policy (Policy TC7) on concentration, loss of family homes, noise, anti-social behaviour and waste; the Regulation 19 version (Submission Draft Local Plan 2043) was consulted on from 10 Aug to 30 Sep 2026 and keeps Policy TC7: the council would only support turning a home or other property into a short-term let where fewer than 10% of properties within 100m are HMOs, it would not cause an over-concentration of short-term lets, and amenity, regeneration and community balance are not harmed, with a management plan (layout, maximum occupancy, length and frequency of stays, a 24-hour contact and waste arrangements) required (checked 28 Oct 2026).

It has not been examined or adopted, so until then the 2022 Local Plan applies.

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No statutory visitor levy yet. Separately, the city centre Liverpool Accommodation BID charges £2 per room or unit per night (since 1 Jun 2025), but only on hotel or serviced accommodation in the BID area with a rateable value of £45,000 or more, so a typical short let on council tax, or a small business-rated let, is not covered.

The BID runs until Dec 2027. On 10 Sep 2026 the government announced that mayors, including the Liverpool City Region Mayor, will get the power to bring in an Overnight Visitor Levy, charged as a percentage of the accommodation price.

The Mayor, Steve Rotheram, has campaigned for it and says it could raise up to £18m a year across the city region (which includes Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and Halton). A bill is still to come, and the government expects mayors to set out spending plans by early 2028, so nothing applies yet and no rate, start date or exemptions have been set.

The government says hotels and other accommodation providers will pay the levy to the authority, and local leaders can offer exemptions (such as campsites); the Combined Authority has not published a local scheme or any exemptions yet (checked 28 Oct 2026).

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No short-let fees. Council tax: Liverpool charges twice the normal council tax on second homes (furnished, nobody's main home).

The national power allows this from 1 Apr 2025 at the earliest; the council's page confirms the double charge but does not give the date it was decided (checked 28 Oct 2026). Empty and unfurnished homes pay full council tax for the first 12 months, then a premium: 200% of the normal bill after 1 year, 300% after 5 years and 400% after 10 years, even if the owner changes.

Exceptions (national rules from 1 Apr 2025) include: annexes treated as part of the main home (Class F); homes actively marketed for sale or let (Classes G and H, 12 months); probate (Class I, 12 months); job-related homes (Class J); occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings (Class K); and seasonal homes where year-round living is banned, or a planning condition limits use to holiday accommodation or stops anyone staying more than 28 days in a row (Class L).

To claim an exception, email Revenue.Service@liverpool.gov.uk with "Empty properties and second home premium exception" in the subject and your evidence (for example the estate agent listing). If your holiday let meets the business rates test (available at least 140 nights and actually let at least 70 nights in the last 12 months, and you plan to offer 140 nights in the next 12), it is valued for business rates instead of council tax, so the premium does not apply.

A single let with a rateable value under £15,000 may get small business rate relief.

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