Campaigners say short-term lets are ‘hollowing out our city’

Campaigners have accused short-term let (STL) landlords of “hollowing out our city” after new data found one in 32 London homes were used for short stays in 2024.

Jae Vail, from the London Renters Union, said it was wrong for so many lets to be used as holiday homes while Londoners faced an “unprecedented” housing emergency.

It comes as new analysis by estate agents Savills, commissioned by a group of 12 central London councils, found that there were 117,000 homes listed for short-term let across London last year — an equivalent to one in 32 homes across the capital.

Responding to the research, Vail said: “While landlords get rich from this lucrative market, ordinary Londoners are forced to pay extortionate rents and face the threat of homelessness.

“The centre of our city is for everyone who lives here, not just tourists and the super-rich. Government must put renters first and crack down on the proliferation of short-term lets.”

Vail, whose campaign group advocates for better protection for tenants and more affordable housing in London, suggested if landlords do not want to make these properties available as affordable homes for renters then councils should be given the opportunity and means to buy them and convert them into social housing.

Rob Anderson, director for research at Centre for London, a think tank, claimed STLs are being used illegally.

“Data from the GLA estimates at least one in 10 short-term lets in the capital exceed the 90-day limit,” said Anderson.

“The reality is likely to be far higher. But enforcing such legislative demands on short-term let landlords is near impossible with the size of the sector. Councils simply do not have the budget, nor the power, nor the personnel.”

Anderson said STLs have a role to play in meeting London’s tourism needs and urged authorities to consider how legislation and investment in enforcement stop them becoming another factor in London’s housing crisis.

Short-term lets refer to properties rented out for less than 90 nights per year. In London, those wanting to rent their home for more than 90 nights a year on a short-term basis must get planning permission from their local planning authority.

Savills’ analysis, which was commissioned by Central London Forward, found that 52 percent of the short-term lets in London were let for more than the 90 day limit, leading to fears that many owners may be breaking the law. This problem was particularly acute in the City of Westminster where there are over 16,000 STLs, with almost 14,000 being whole properties.

According to Westminster Council, over half of those are available for more than the allowed 90 days. That means the borough has enough STL listings to make up 40 percent of all private sector homes. In Camden, the figure is 25 percent of all private rented homes.

Income from STLs in Westminster is estimated to be £450mn a year, which is equal to almost 18 percent of the total private rental income in the borough.

Councillor Adam Hug, leader of Westminster Council and chair of Central London Forward, said the STL market in central London was stopping Londoners from accessing affordable and secure housing and putting upward pressure on an already expensive private rental market.

“In Westminster alone, there are over 16,000 short-term rentals which detract from permanent, secure housing for residents,” said Hug

“Councils in central London are working hard to enforce existing rules, but both further regulations, including a licensing scheme, and greater resources are needed to address this growing problem.

“London is a global city with a thriving tourism industry, but we need to get the balance right so that Londoners can continue to live in the city they call home,” he said.

According to the report by Savills, owners with a portfolio of more than 21 properties command 24 percent of the total share of STLs in London.

The city already has the least affordable housing of any English region with the average home costing 12 times the average salary, compared to eight times nationally.

Chris Norris, campaigns and policy director at the National Residential Landlords Association, said the findings show a growing imbalance in London’s housing market. He said the shift towards STLs is a symptom of a broader supply crisis in the private rented sector, which has worsened in recent years.

“The Government must recognise that the tax system discourages long-term investment in the private rented sector, and persuades many that using their properties as short-term lets is their only option. Without pro-growth measures from the Treasury, such as providing mortgage interest relief and reforming stamp duty, we will see an increase in landlords turning to short-term lets,” said Norris.

“This will further reduce the availability of long-term homes for renters, exacerbating the supply issue and driving rents higher.”

Private tenants in the capital also spend more — a third, or 35 percent – on rent than their counterparts nationally, who spend roughly a quarter — 26 percent. There are currently 300,000 London households on a housing waiting list while 175,000 — one in 50 — are homeless.

As a result, local councils are having to put more funds into housing people in temporary accommodation which is impacting local authority budgets.

The analysis in the report used data from AirDNA covering listings on the AirBnB and VRBO websites for the 12 months to 12 December 2024. Data from the GLA states that London had almost 3.8mn homes in 2023.

Central London Forward, report: Scale of the Short-Let market in central London (pdf)

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