Do I need planning permission to run a property as a short let?
This is the single most-asked serviced accommodation question in the UK, and the answer has changed. In England the government has legislated for a new planning use class (C5) for short-term lets plus a national registration scheme; in London the 90-night rule under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act has applied for years and letting beyond it needs planning permission. Scotland already requires a short-term let licence everywhere and Edinburgh operates a control area where change of use is needed. Wales has a statutory registration scheme. So the honest answer is: it depends on your nation, your council and whether a control area or Article 4 direction applies, and you must check with the specific local planning authority before you sign anything, not after.
Will my mortgage let me do short lets?
Usually not without permission. A standard residential mortgage almost always prohibits letting at all, and a normal buy-to-let mortgage typically requires an assured shorthold tenancy, which a short let is not. Doing it anyway is a breach of contract that can trigger the loan being called in and invalidate your insurance at the same time. The routes that work are a lender who explicitly permits short lets or holiday lets, a specialist holiday-let product, or, if you are renting rather than buying, a landlord whose own lender and freeholder have agreed in writing.
Can I do rent-to-serviced-accommodation without owning property?
Yes, and it is the most common low-capital entry into short lets. You take a property on a lease or management agreement, furnish it, and let it nightly. The whole model lives or dies on consent: the landlord must have permission from their lender, their freeholder if leasehold, and their insurer, and the agreement must permit sub-letting for short stays. Deals done on a handshake or a standard AST with a wink are the ones that collapse, usually about four months in, when a neighbour complains and the freeholder writes to the landlord.
How much can I actually make from one SA unit?
A realistic UK two-bed in a decent city location might gross £2,500–£3,500 a month at 70–80% occupancy, against rent of £900–£1,200, bills of £250–£350, cleaning of £300–£500, platform fees of 3–15% and consumables. Net to you is commonly £500–£1,000 a month per unit once everything is counted, and materially less in a weak month or a poor location. The screenshots showing £4,000 net per unit are either exceptional properties, exceptional events weeks, or not counting the cleaner properly.
What insurance do I need for serviced accommodation?
Standard landlord or residential insurance does not cover nightly guests, and a claim will be refused. You need a policy written for short-term lets or holiday lets covering public liability (usually £2m–£5m), contents including guest damage, loss of income, and accidental damage. If you take bookings directly rather than through a platform you should also check whether you are handling payments in a way that triggers other obligations.
Do I have to pay business rates or council tax?
In England, if a property is available to let for at least 140 days and actually let for at least 70 days in a year it moves from council tax to business rates, and small business rate relief may then reduce the bill to nothing. Wales has stricter thresholds (252 days available, 182 let). Scotland has its own tests. It is worth modelling both outcomes before you commit, because a property that misses the threshold sits on full council tax and that can remove the whole margin.
Is serviced accommodation saturated now?
In city centres with heavy supply, average performance has fallen and the weak operators are being squeezed out, that part is real. What has not happened is demand collapsing; it has moved. Contractor and relocation stays, family-sized units, properties near hospitals and courts, and anything with parking and a genuine three or four bedrooms are still under-supplied in most of the UK. The units struggling are generic one-beds in over-served centres competing only on price.
What does a fire risk assessment involve for a short let?
For most short-let properties you are treated as responsible for fire safety under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and since the Fire Safety (England) Regulations and the 2021 Act tightened duties, the expectation is a written assessment. Practically that means interlinked smoke alarms, a heat alarm in the kitchen, carbon monoxide alarms where there is any fuel-burning appliance, clear escape routes, fire doors where required, fire-retardant furnishings and guest information showing the escape route. Scotland requires interlinked alarms in all homes as standard.
How do I get direct bookings instead of paying platform fees?
Slowly, and after you have a track record. The sequence that works is: build a strong platform profile first, capture guest details lawfully at check-in with a consent tick, run a simple website with a booking engine, ask for repeat bookings by email or WhatsApp, and target the corporate and relocation market who prefer invoicing to Airbnb. Expect direct to be a growing minority of bookings rather than a replacement, and remember you take on the payment, cancellation and complaint handling yourself.
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