From long let to short let: how to make the switch

Can you switch now?

If a tenant lives in your home in England, the straight answer is not until they leave. Since 1 May 2026, every private tenancy in England has rolled on with no end date, and section 21 no-fault notices have gone. A landlord can only end a tenancy on one of the legal grounds in the Housing Act 1988, and wanting to let the home to short-stay guests is not one of them.

That leaves three ways in. The tenant decides to move on. The tenant agrees with you to leave by a set date. Or you genuinely need the home back to sell it or live in it, which rules out short lets for a year. These questions show where you stand.

An agreed early exit is called a surrender. It is lawful when the tenant genuinely chooses it, and it is best recorded in writing, with the leaving date and the return of the keys. What you must not do is pressure a tenant to go. Withdrawing services, interfering with their home or making repeated demands can amount to harassment, which is a criminal offence.

How a tenancy ends in England now

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed how tenancies end in England from 1 May 2026, for existing tenancies as well as new ones. Fixed terms became rolling tenancies on that date, so a tenant who signed for a year can now leave before the year is up.

When the tenant leaves. A tenant ends the tenancy by giving at least two months’ notice in writing, ending on the first or last day of a rent period. You can agree a shorter notice with them. This is the usual route into short lets, and it often comes up on its own: tenants buy homes, move for work and change their plans.

When you need the home back. To sell, or for you or a close family member to move in, you must give four months’ notice, and you cannot use either ground in the first 12 months of a tenancy. If the tenant does not leave, only a court can order possession. From the day you serve notice on either ground until 12 months after the notice ends, you cannot let the home or advertise it, and the law says that includes paid licences to occupy, which is how short-let guests stay. Selling or moving in is not a back door into short lets.

If your home is in Wales or Scotland

Wales has its own system. Tenants there are contract-holders on occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. A contract-holder can end a periodic contract with at least four weeks’ notice. Unlike England, Wales still has a no-fault notice: on most periodic contracts a landlord can give six months’ notice, though not in the first six months after the contract-holder moved in, and the notice must be in the right form. Short-let owners in Wales must also register with the Welsh Revenue Authority by 31 March 2027. Our guide to holiday lets in Wales covers each.

In Scotland, private residential tenancies have no end date either. A tenant can leave with at least 28 days’ notice. A landlord needs one of 18 eviction grounds, and a tribunal decides if the tenant does not go. One ground covers using the home for something other than a home, but it needs evidence such as planning permission, so take advice before relying on it. A tribunal can order a landlord who misleads a tenant into leaving to pay up to 36 months’ rent. Before your first booking you also need a short-term let licence from the council. Our guide to short lets in Scotland explains the licence.

The deposit and the day they leave

The tenant’s deposit stays protected in its scheme until the tenancy ends, and the scheme’s rules decide how it comes back. In England and Wales you must return it within 10 days of you and the tenant agreeing how much they get back.

1. Book the check-outWalk through the home with the tenant and compare it with the check-in inventory.
2. Take readings and keysRecord every meter reading and collect all keys, fobs and parking permits.
3. Propose any deductionsSet out what you want to keep and why, with photos and quotes or receipts.
4. Return the depositWithin 10 days of agreeing the amount with the tenant.
5. If you cannot agreeThe disputed money stays in the scheme, and its free dispute service can decide.

You can only deduct for what the tenancy allows, such as unpaid rent, missing items or damage beyond fair wear and tear. A carpet worn thin after five years is wear and tear; a burn in it is damage. Keep the inventory, dated photos and invoices, because evidence settles disputes. Do not hold back money for getting the home ready for guests. New furniture, redecorating and anything beyond returning the home to its check-in condition are your costs.

What changes when guests replace a tenant

Once the tenant leaves, most of what they carried passes back to you. This is what changes, and what stays the same.

Council tax is the change owners most often miss. Tell the council the date the tenant left, because the bill moves to you from that day. A furnished home that nobody lives in as their main home is usually charged as a second home, and many councils in England now add a premium of up to 100%. If the home is available to let for at least 140 nights a year and actually let for at least 70, it can move to business rates instead. Our guide to council tax or business rates explains the tests.

Sort the permissions during the notice period

A tenant’s two months’ notice is useful time. Spend it on the four things that can stop a short let outright, because each can take weeks to settle.

• Mortgage. Buy-to-let mortgages are written for tenancies and usually exclude holiday and short lets. Ask your lender for consent in writing, or look at a holiday-let mortgage. See mortgages and short lets.
• Insurance. A landlord policy rarely covers paying guests, and many policies limit cover once a home has been empty for a set number of days. Line up a specialist short-let policy to start the day the tenant leaves. See insurance for short lets.
• Lease. In a leasehold flat, look for wording such as ‘private residence’ and get the freeholder’s agreement in writing if the lease is against you. See leasehold flats and short lets.
• Planning. In Greater London a whole home can be short-let for up to 90 nights a calendar year without planning permission. Elsewhere in England, permission is needed only if the use materially changes, which councils judge case by case. See planning permission.

The switch, step by step

Most of the work can happen before the tenant leaves, so the home earns again soon after. This is a typical order, starting from the day their notice arrives.

1. Notice received
   Check permissionsContact your lender, insurer and, for a flat, the freeholder. Check planning if you are in London.
2. First month
   Plan the furnishingList what the home needs to reach a guest standard and order anything with a long delivery time.
3. Second month
   Book checks and servicesBook the gas safety check, an electrical check and a fire risk assessment, and order broadband in your name.
4. Moving-out day
   Check-out and handoverInspect the home, take meter readings, collect keys, and tell the council and suppliers.
5. Within 10 days of agreeing
   Return the depositSettle the amount with the tenant and return it.
6. After the move
   Clean, furnish, photographDeep clean, set up the home for guests, then photograph it for the listings.
7. Ready to list
   Go liveThe listings go live and the first guests can book.

If we manage the let, this last stretch is ours. Once the tenant has moved out, we clean the home and add everything guests need, so it is ready for its first stay, and a home that is furnished and ready is usually live within about three days of signing.

Before your first guest

A home that suited a tenant rarely suits guests as it stands. Guests judge it on its photos before they book, and expect a fully equipped kitchen and reliable wifi when they arrive. The safety paperwork matters too: an annual gas safety check, and a fire risk assessment, which the law requires of anyone taking paying guests. Our guides to fire safety, gas and electrical checks and getting your home guest-ready have the detail.

Utilities and broadband move into your name from the day the tenant leaves. Give each supplier the meter readings from the check-out, so the tenant pays up to that date and you pay from it. Order broadband early, because a new connection can take a couple of weeks or more if the line needs work. A home let mainly to paying guests may count as a business for energy and, in England, for water, so check before you sign new contracts. Our guide to running costs covers this. Check too whether you need a TV licence for guests: TV Licensing has its own guidance for holiday lets.

Tax changes less than many owners expect. The furnished holiday lettings regime ended in April 2025, so short-let and long-let income are now taxed in the same way, as property income. Your UK lets usually all count as one property business, so switching does not start a new one. Running costs are deductible, but the first furnishing is not: the replacement of domestic items relief covers replacing furniture, not buying it for the first time. Our guide to tax on short-let income covers the rest.

Questions owners ask