England’s short-let register: what we know so far

Where things stand

The government has committed to a mandatory national register of short-term lets in England. If you let a home, or part of one, to paying guests as a business, you should expect to need to register it, subject to any exemptions still to be decided. The aim is to give councils something they do not have today: a reliable picture of how many short lets there are in their area, and where.

Be clear about what that date is. In its guidance for holiday let owners, updated in October 2026, the government says the scheme is not yet in force and is expected to begin in March 2027. A month earlier, the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, told MPs the register “will be up and running in full by March”. Those are firm intentions, but they are not law. The regulations that say who must register, what it costs and what happens if you do not have not been published yet, so the date could still move.

How the policy has developed

The register has been in the works since 2022 and has survived a change of government. The planning changes promised alongside it never arrived, which is a good reason to treat any launch date with caution until the regulations are laid before Parliament.

1. 2022
   Call for evidenceThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport asked for views on a tourist accommodation register for England.
2. April to June 2023
   Two consultationsOne on a registration scheme, and a separate one on a new planning use class for short lets.
3. October 2023
   The law is passedThe Levelling-up and Regeneration Act gives ministers the power to create a register. That section came into force on 26 December 2023.
4. February 2024
   Government responseA mandatory national register was confirmed, with planning changes promised “from this summer”.
5. July 2024
   General electionThe planning changes had not been made, and they have not been made since.
6. March 2026
   New GOV.UK guidanceOne page of rules for self-catering holiday homes in England, later updated to give the expected start date.
7. September 2026
   Commitment to MPsThe Culture Secretary said the register would be running in full by March.
8. March 2027
   Expected startThe date in current guidance, still subject to regulations being made.

A register is a list, not a licence. The 2023 consultation said it did not expect a significant number of physical inspections, and being registered does not in itself limit how many nights you can let. That is quite different from Scotland, where every short let needs a licence, and from the planning rules covered further down.

What is confirmed and what is still open

Most of what you read about the register mixes three things: what the law already allows, what the government has said it will do, and what it floated in a consultation in 2023. They carry very different weight.

Position as of October 2026, from GOV.UK guidance, the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 and Hansard.

The legal power sits in section 228 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. It lets the government make regulations on who keeps the register, who must register and on what conditions, appeals, fees, exemptions and enforcement. It also allows a ban on providing or promoting an unregistered short let as a business. That is the lever that would make a “no number, no listing” rule possible on the booking sites, but whether England uses it, and how, has not been announced.

The government has also said it will consider a threshold for owners who let only occasionally, so they are not caught by the scheme. It has not said what that threshold would be, or whether there will be one at all.

What owners may be asked for

The best clue to the detail is the 2023 consultation. Treat it as a menu of options, not the final scheme. It proposed that owners provide:

• The address, and whether you let the whole home or part of it, such as a room
• Your name and contact details, and your manager’s if you use one
• The number of bedspaces, and accessibility details
• How many nights a year the home is available, and how many were let last year
• Confirmation that your lease allows short letting, where that applies
• Whether you have planning permission, or do not need it
• A self-certified statement that the home meets the safety rules, possibly with a photo or document as proof

It listed gas, fire, electrical and furniture safety among the rules. On money, it said the scheme should pay for itself through fees, and asked whether to charge per owner, per property or on a sliding scale. On penalties, it listed letting without registering, failing to renew and falsifying documents as possible triggers, with fines or removal from the register as the sanctions. It said there were no plans for criminal offences.

The planning change that has not happened

Alongside the register, the previous government planned a separate change to planning law. In February 2024 it said it would create a new planning use class for short lets, often called C5, for homes that are not someone’s sole or main home. Homes could switch between ordinary residential use and short-let use without a planning application, but councils could remove that freedom in their area and require full permission. Owners would also have been able to let their own main home for up to 90 nights a year without permission.

Those changes were promised “from this summer” in 2024, but the general election came first and they were never made. As of October 2026 the planning rules have not changed and no date has been set for a short-let use class. The government’s 2026 guidance for holiday let owners does not mention one. It says your local planning authority decides whether you need permission, based on how the home is used and its effect on neighbours and the area.

The register and planning answer different questions. Registration tells the council a short let exists. Planning decides whether it is allowed. The government says the register will help councils understand which homes are let in their area, so it makes sense to know your planning position before you register.

How Wales and Scotland already differ

Wales has its own register, run by the Welsh Revenue Authority. It is open now and it is free, and every provider of visitor accommodation must register by 31 March 2027, whether or not their council brings in the new visitor levy. Wales also has its own rules on business rates and council tax premiums for second homes. Our guide to holiday lets in Wales covers them.

Scotland went further, and earlier. Every short let needs a licence from the local council, and hosts who were already letting had to apply by 1 October 2023. Councils set the fee and can add their own conditions, and in some areas, including the whole of Edinburgh, letting a home that is not your main home also needs planning permission. Our guide to short lets in Scotland explains the details.

For England, the government has chosen the lighter model: a register rather than a licence, described as light touch, low cost and simple to use. Nothing announced so far suggests England will follow Scotland into licensing.

What to do now

There is no register to join in England yet, so anyone offering to put you on it today cannot. What you can do is make sure registering is quick when it opens, and that everything you confirm is true. That means having in place the things the consultation suggested owners may be asked about.

1. Check your safety paperworkA current gas safety record, electrical checks, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and a fire risk assessment that follows the government’s guidance for small paying guest accommodation.
2. Know your planning positionAsk your council whether your home needs planning permission, especially in London or a busy tourist area.
3. Check your lease and mortgageIf the home is leasehold or mortgaged, get written confirmation that short letting is allowed.
4. Keep a record of nights letYour booking calendar shows nights available and nights let, which the consultation suggested owners may be asked for.
5. Check your insuranceMake sure your policy covers paying guests and includes public liability cover.
6. Watch for the regulationsWhen they are laid before Parliament you will see the fee, the information required and the deadline.

Our guides to fire safety, gas and electrical checks, leasehold flats, mortgages and insurance go through them one by one.

If we run your home, we register it where registration applies: in Wales now, and in England once the register opens.

Questions owners ask