Short-term lets

If you believe the property is being let for more than 90 nights a year, you can report a short-term let breach online.

We will visit the property to establish if there is a breach of the law. This will require multiple visits to establish the required evidence. You can help our investigation by keeping a record of the date, time, duration and nature of the disturbances.

Council leaseholders are not permitted to short-let their property. Terms of the lease supersede the Deregulation Act (2015). Read more about subletting council property.

Best practice guidance

Guests that behave irresponsibly can be a nightmare for neighbours. This might be because of excessive noise, unsociable hours, dumping waste or causing mess or disturbance in common areas.

Top tips for ensuring guests behave responsibly:

• notify your neighbours that you will have guests, and provide them with a contact number should any issues arise
• make sure you know who is in your property by meeting the guests and verifying their ID before you give out keys
• provide an emergency contact to your guests, reachable 24 hours a day
• provide a Code of Conduct for your guests - this should include being mindful of neighbours, for example, remind guests not to knock or buzz neighbour’s doors, and to keep noise to a minimum, especially at night
• ensure a ‘no party policy’ and require guests to notify you of any additional guests
• leave clear instructions for what to do with rubbish and recycling
• tell your guests about any common area rules in your building
• ensure you have insurance in place to cover the guest stays, including 3rd party liability insurance

Potential consequences of not following the law and best practice

Failing to follow best practice or comply with legal requirements could result in:

• ​enforcement action, which, if not complied with, may result in criminal proceedings in some cases
• closure orders

• guests and neighbours put at risk of serious injury or death
• penalty fines
• invalidation of insurance policies
• breach of mortgage terms
• breach of lease covenants