Holiday let planning permission in England

Sometimes. There is no national rule that every holiday let needs planning permission. GOV.UK says your local planning authority decides, based on how the property is used for short-term letting and its impact on neighbours and the local area, and that you should contact your council to confirm. In Greater London there is a separate 90-night limit.

No. The government consulted on a new C5 use class for short-term lets, with new permitted development rights, from 12 April to 7 June 2023. GOV.UK still says it is analysing the feedback (checked 30 Oct 2026), so C5 is not law in England. Wales is different: it has had a short-term let use class since October 2022.

In Greater London, using a home as temporary sleeping accommodation (stays under 90 nights) normally needs planning permission. The exception is that you do not need permission if the total nights let in a calendar year are 90 or fewer and the person providing the accommodation pays council tax on the home (Deregulation Act 2015, section 44).

Often this is where hosts get caught out. Converting a building is usually building work, and building operations count as development under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. If an existing permission has a condition, for example that an annexe is only used alongside the main house or that a building is for holiday use only, not following it is a breach of planning control. Ask your council before you convert or let one separately.

You can apply to your council for a lawful development certificate. One for a proposed use (section 192) confirms a planned use would be lawful; one for an existing use (section 191) confirms a use already happening is lawful. Planning merits are not considered, only the facts and the law. Many councils also offer pre-application advice, and some charge for it.

The council can take enforcement action. In England the time limit for enforcement is now 10 years for breaches that happen on or after 25 April 2024 (Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, section 115). Breaches that happened before that date keep the old time limits.

An Article 4 direction removes permitted development rights. Under the 2023 proposals, councils would have been able to remove new rights to change a home into a short-term let where there is local concern. Those rights do not exist yet, so for now councils rely on deciding case by case whether a letting is a material change of use, and on Local Plan policies.

They are not a planning matter, so planning permission does not override them. Planning guidance says land ownership restrictions such as deeds or covenants should be checked with a legal professional. Check your lease, deeds and mortgage terms separately.

Yes, usually. Planning permission or a lawful development certificate does not remove the need for Building Regulations approval or other consents. Holiday lets also have fire, gas and electrical safety duties, and a national short-term let registration scheme is expected to start in March 2027 (GOV.UK).