A new crackdown on Airbnb-style lets in London is set to be unveiled within months to target abuses and ease the capital’s housing crisis.
Details of the online registration scheme for short-term lets, including how it will operate, who will run it, and measures to make it effective, are likely to be announced by April.
Cities of London and Westminster MP Rachel Blake is urging the Government to first trial the register in her constituency for properties being rented out for holidays and other short stays.
Discussions have taken place over a pilot for the ‘light touch’ scheme, which will initially be voluntary rather than mandatory.
The Standard understands that this remains an option.
But no final decision has been taken on whether to go for a gradual roll-out of the register of properties or if it should go England-wide straightaway.
Up to two out of three, or 9,300, short-term lets a year in the borough of Westminster have been in breach of a 90-night rule, the maximum time they can be rented out annually without planning permission, according to the local council.
The 90-night rule was introduced to protect homes for Londoners and to limit disruption from noisy guests in short-term lets, as well as rubbish left outside doors.
One landlord in North Finchley, Barnet, was fined £75,000 last year for renting out two flats on Airbnb and Booking.com in breach of the local council’s regulations.
In another case a mansion block near Hyde Park reportedly had more tourists than the Ritz.
Labour MP Ms Blake told the Standard: “This is a really significant issue for the whole country but especially for central London where we are losing up to 20% of our homes in some parts of my constituency to short-term lets.
“I’m concerned about the number of properties where the 90-day rule is being breached.
“That is why we need a registration scheme urgently.
“I’m asking the Government to pilot the registration scheme in Cities of London and Westminster as soon as possible.”
Secondary legislation will need to go through Parliament with details on how the scheme will work in practice.
It will be England-wide, with local authorities involved but not as the overall administrator.
The scheme is unlikely to be in force by a previous target date of April to go live.
But the secondary legislation, which can get through Parliament far quicker than a new law, could be tabled by that month.
Around the same time, the Government is expected to lay out how the scheme will work following a public consultation.
The timetable would allow it to become operational later in the year, possibly even by some point in the summer, the peak tourism season.
Westminster council believes there are now around 13,000 short-term lets in the borough, down from some 14,000 in 2024, but significantly more than any other borough, with Tower Hamlets in second place with more than 9,000 two years ago.
Many of them are on Airbnb, Booking.com but also on a variety of other online platforms.
Westminster council’s report into short-term lets in 2024, many by businesses rather than individuals, found that 9,389 homes were rented out for more than 90 nights, or around two of three of the total.
Cllr Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, which was won by Labour at the 2022 local elections, said: “We have been pushing hard to get the Government to listen to our concerns over the proposed scheme.
“The sheer volume of short-term lets in Westminster places a major strain on the housing system and limits the availability of properties we could offer to local people.”
A large number of short-term lets in Westminster are in the West End, Bayswater, and Lancaster Gate areas rather than being evenly spread across the borough.
The council’s enforcement officers have struggled to properly impose the 90-night rule given that there are so many short-term lets in the borough and the difficulties proving a breach.
Cllr Hug added: “While we welcome progress on the register, it is important it contains the ability to track the number of nights a flat or house is used for.
“That gives us a clear insight into whether the 90-night rule is being abused.”
There is no evidence of wrong-doing by Airbnb, Booking.com or other platforms.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We recognise that this is a real issue in areas like Westminster and across London.
“That is why we will introduce a registration scheme for short-term lets in England as soon as possible.”
Cllr Hug also stressed that the registration scheme needed to “dovetail” with the planned “tourist tax”, the nightly charge for staying in a hotel or short-term let in London which is being introduced by Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
