https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/ Guides for London landlords on short-let rules, tax, running costs and what a property can realistically earn. en-GB Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/can-you-short-let-on-a-buy-to-let-mortgage/ https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/can-you-short-let-on-a-buy-to-let-mortgage/ Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Rules and tax Most buy-to-let mortgages are written for standard tenancies and do not automatically permit short lets. Here is why the product matters, what lenders actually ask for, and what happens if you never asked. • A standard buy-to-let mortgage is usually written around an assured shorthold tenancy, not nightly guests, so short-letting without checking is often a breach of the mortgage terms rather than a grey area. • Some lenders permit short lets with consent, some allow it only through specific consumer buy-to-let or holiday-let products, and some will not allow it at all. • Letting short-term on the wrong product does not usually end in a phone call, it ends in a clause the lender can rely on if something goes wrong or if they ever find out. • Ask the lender in writing before you list, because the fix is often just a conversation, but it needs to happen first. https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/can-you-short-let-a-leasehold-flat/ https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/can-you-short-let-a-leasehold-flat/ Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Rules and tax Whether you can short-let a leasehold flat depends on the lease, not the council. Here is what leases typically say, why the freeholder matters more than planning rules, and what to check before you list. • The lease decides this, not the council or the 90-night rule. Read the alienation and use clauses before you list anything. • Many London leases either ban short lets outright or require the freeholder's written consent, sometimes at a cost. • A freeholder or managing agent can act on a lease breach directly, often faster than any planning enforcement process. • If the lease is silent or ambiguous, get a written answer from the freeholder rather than assuming silence means permission. https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/is-airbnb-income-halal-london-landlords/ https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/is-airbnb-income-halal-london-landlords/ Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Islamic finance Rental income from property is widely held to be permissible, but the questions Muslim landlords ask are about financing, what happens inside the property, and zakat. Here is how each one plays out for a London short let. • Rental income from a property you own is broadly held to be permissible. Short-letting does not change that in itself. • The question that usually decides things is how the property was financed, and it was settled at purchase rather than at listing. • Sharia-compliant purchase plans carry their own conditions on letting. Read the agreement and ring the provider before listing. • You set the house rules the property is let on, including no alcohol, no parties and minimum stays, and we run the listing to them. https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/90-night-rule-london/ https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/90-night-rule-london/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Rules and tax London properties can be short-let for 90 nights a year without planning permission. Here is where the limit comes from, what counts towards it, and the mistake that puts most landlords over it without noticing. • A whole property in Greater London can be short-let for 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission. The count resets on 1 January. • Airbnb applies the cap automatically, but only counts its own nights. List on two platforms and the property can pass the legal limit while both show you inside it. • Letting a room while you live there, and lets longer than 90 consecutive nights, are not caught by the cap. • Your lease, mortgage and insurance stop more landlords than planning does. Check all three before you list. https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/airbnb-versus-long-tenancy-london-which-earns-more/ https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/airbnb-versus-long-tenancy-london-which-earns-more/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Rules and tax The honest comparison between short-letting and a standard tenancy in London, including voids, management cost, the 90-night cap and seasonality, and where a tenancy actually wins. • Nightly rate times 365 against monthly rent is the wrong comparison. A short let does not sell 365 nights. • The short let has to cover voids, cleaning, management, utilities and council tax, all of which a tenancy avoids. • London's 90-night cap means a property cannot be short-let full time and stay within the rules. • Short lets usually still win where demand supports them, but a tenancy genuinely wins in some cases. The comparison that matters is net income across a year. https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/do-you-pay-tax-on-airbnb-income-uk/ https://www.slateandcove.com/blog/do-you-pay-tax-on-airbnb-income-uk/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Rules and tax Short-let income is taxable like any other rental income. Here is what counts as declarable, how the property allowance works, what you can offset, and when you need to file a return. • Short-let income is taxable property income. Coming through a platform makes no difference. • Everything the guest pays counts, including cleaning fees. A management fee is an expense, not a reduction in income. • You can claim the property allowance or your actual expenses, not both. For most short lets with real costs, actual expenses are worth more. • Thresholds and the furnished holiday lettings rules change. Check current GOV.UK guidance rather than any figure you read elsewhere.