Short-term and holiday lets: New registration scheme coming 2027

What is changing?

The new registration scheme follows a period of significant change for the short-term accommodation sector, including the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime in April 2025.

From March, anyone letting out self-catering property or offering short-term accommodation to paying guests for leisure or holiday purposes will be required to register the property under a new national registration scheme. The scheme is being introduced under powers contained in section 228 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (the “2023 Act”), which mandates the creation of a registration scheme for specified short-term rental properties in England.

England will be joining the rest of the UK in operating a formal registration regime for short-term accommodation. Scotland and Northern Ireland have already implemented registration requirements, and Wales is due to follow with a visitor accommodation register from October 2026.

For the purposes of the 2023 Act, a short-term rental property broadly means accommodation provided to paying guests as part of a business, where it is not the guest’s only or principal residence. The definition is wide enough to encompass not only holiday lets and Airbnb-style accommodation, but potentially other forms of short-stay accommodation, including serviced apartments.

Whilst the detailed enforcement regime remains to be established through secondary legislation, the 2023 Act gives the government broad powers to introduce sanctions for non-compliance. In particular, regulations may prohibit the provision or promotion of a short-term rental property where registration requirements have not been satisfied and may provide for civil penalties.

What should owners and operators be doing now?

Although the commencement date has been confirmed, many practical details of the scheme remain to be determined. We do know that the government has indicated that it intends the scheme to be light-touch, low-cost and primarily digital. It has also acknowledged that it does not wish to impose disproportionate regulation on individuals who let out their properties only occasionally.

In anticipation of the government publishing its detailed regulations, owners and operators of short-term accommodation may wish to review the following:

• whether the property’s current use is likely to bring it within the scope of the registration scheme, recognising that definitive categorisation will depend on the detailed regulations yet to be published and any exemptions contained therein;
• the planning position and any local restrictions affecting the property, particularly given the government’s proposals for a new planning use class for short-term lets;
• any restrictions contained in the title or, where applicable, the lease, including user covenants, restrictions on short-term occupation, holiday lettings, and any requirements for landlord consent;
• mortgage or lender requirements, including whether consent is required before the property can be used for short-term accommodation;
• existing regulatory requirements applicable to the property’s use, including fire, gas and electrical safety obligations, together with any associated insurance, compliance and operational record-keeping requirements.

The key takeaway

The confirmation of a March 2027 commencement date provides the clearest indication yet of the government’s direction of travel. While important details remain to be published, owners and operators should use the intervening period to review their arrangements and monitor further developments as the detailed regulations take shape.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a comprehensive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should always be sought in relation to individual circumstances.

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