Short term lets and the proposed use class

Short term let planning permission in England is decided the old-fashioned way: by asking whether letting a property to a succession of visitors amounts to a material change of use from the dwellinghouse it was. There is no national rule that says a given number of nights tips the balance, outside London. The answer turns on fact and degree, which is an unsatisfying thing to tell someone who has just bought a flat to let out.

A dedicated use class for short term lets in England has been proposed, alongside a registration scheme, and the two are separate things. As at 15 September 2026 you should verify the current status of both on GOV.UK before relying on anything here, because this is an area where the position has moved in stages and the planning treatment depends on what is actually in force.

The current planning position on short term letting

Letting a whole dwelling to visitors is not automatically development. Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 makes a material change in the use of land or buildings development, and a change that is not material needs no permission.

London is the exception with a statutory rule of its own. Under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973, as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015, using residential premises in Greater London as temporary sleeping accommodation for no more than 90 nights in a calendar year is not treated as a material change of use, subject to conditions including that the provider is liable for council tax. Go beyond the 90 nights and planning permission is needed.

Outside London there is no equivalent threshold. A property let occasionally while the owner is away sits comfortably within residential use. A property let year round to a constant turnover of short stay guests, with key safes, cleaning rotations and luggage arrivals at all hours, looks different.

Material change of use and how it is judged

Councils and inspectors look at the character of the use rather than the label on the booking platform.

The factors that recur are the frequency and pattern of letting, the length of stay, whether the owner also occupies the property, the number of separate bookings in a year, the intensity of comings and goings, and the effect on neighbours through noise, refuse and pressure on communal areas. A flat in a converted house shares a front door and a bin store, so the same letting pattern reads more intensively there than in a detached house.

Nothing in that list is a threshold. It is an assessment, which is why two properties in the same street can end up on opposite sides of the line.

Where the position is uncertain and the owner needs an answer, a lawful development certificate is the formal route. That is also the only way to establish that an existing use is lawful, and it is worth more than any opinion, including this one.

What a dedicated use class would do

A separate use class for short term lets would move the question from fact and degree to classification. A change between two use classes is development unless permitted development rights say otherwise, so the design of the accompanying rights matters as much as the class itself.

The shape that has been consulted on pairs a new class with permitted development rights allowing movement in both directions, so that the default position stays broadly as it is, and lets councils withdraw those rights by Article 4 direction where short term letting is causing harm. That would give authorities a targeted tool instead of an enforcement argument about fact and degree.

It would also make the position easier to advise on. A class boundary is a line; the current test is a judgement. Whether it has been brought into force is a question for the current guidance rather than for this article, and the planning law updates timeline is the place to follow reform news of this kind.

The registration scheme and how it differs

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains powers to establish a register of short term rental properties in England. Registration and planning are distinct.

A register tells the government and councils where short term lets are. It does not authorise a use that needs planning permission, and being on a register is not a defence to an enforcement notice. Nor does registration replace the other obligations that attach to letting: fire safety, gas safety, electrical checks, insurance and, where the property is a flat, the terms of the lease.

Leasehold restrictions catch more people than planning does. A covenant against use other than as a private residence, or against parting with possession of part, will stop a letting business regardless of what the planning position is.

Article 4 directions in affected areas

Article 4 directions remove permitted development rights in a defined area. They are made by the local planning authority, must be justified by evidence of harm, and are subject to publicity and to the Secretary of State's oversight.

If a use class and associated rights are introduced, expect directions in coastal towns, national park settlements and city centres where the loss of long term housing is a live issue. Check the council's Article 4 register before buying, not after.

The existing analogue is the direction removing the C3 to C4 right in university towns. Those have been in place for years and they are the model authorities will reach for.

Two points about how directions work. A direction does not make an existing lawful use unlawful, so a property already operating as a short term let before a direction takes effect keeps whatever lawfulness it had. And a direction takes at least a year to come into force where the council wants to avoid compensation liability, so there is usually notice.

Buyers relying on a short term letting income should treat an Article 4 direction in the pipeline the same way they would treat a pending licensing scheme. The council's committee papers are public and they say what is coming.

Evidence councils use in enforcement

Enforcement in this area is evidential rather than technical. Officers assemble booking platform listings and review histories, council tax and business rates records, neighbour diaries of arrivals and departures, refuse presentation patterns, and sometimes utility consumption.

Owners who assume a listing can simply be taken down are often surprised by how much of the history survives. Cached listings and review dates are routinely produced.

Where a council issues an enforcement notice, the appeal grounds under section 174 include that no breach has occurred, which is where the fact and degree argument gets tested properly. A Planning Statement setting out the letting pattern with dates, occupancy and evidence of the owner's own use is the core document. Where neighbour disturbance is alleged, a Noise Impact Assessment may be needed to answer it on evidence rather than assertion.

Checking the current position before letting

Enforcement itself takes time. A council has to be satisfied that a material change of use has occurred, serve a notice, and survive an appeal, and the process rarely moves quickly. That is not a reason to proceed on a breach, because an enforcement notice that bites after two years of trading still bites.

Do four things before the first booking. Read the lease or title for restrictions. Check the council's website for Article 4 directions and any local policy on short term letting. Establish whether you are in Greater London and therefore subject to the 90 night rule. And confirm the current national position on the use class and the registration scheme, because that is the part most likely to have changed since anything you last read.

Where the position is arguable, apply for a certificate rather than waiting for a complaint. The article on what changes when the NPPF is re-issued makes the same broader point about relying on a policy position that has moved on.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.