Certificate of lawfulness for renting whole home

[Jane4321]

Hi everyone, 

I already have private rooms on Airbnb, but would like to create a listing for people to rent my whole house for some of the year.  I've spoken to my council Staffordshire Moorlands with respect to whether planning permission is needed. They have informally said that planning permission shouldn't be needed, as this is just a 3 bedroom house, as long as I show it's still my main residence. They also suggested applying for a certificate of lawfulness to formalise their position. 

Does anyone have experience of this?  The council asks that I include the number of nights / year that I'd let my home out - and are vague when I ask how many nights would be acceptable (so I could work around the limit). I can see there's a limit in London of 90 days max, however for other areas of the UK there's no hard limit as yet. 

Thanks for any feedback!

Jane

[Helen3]

If you are in England you have to let the property I believe for 140 nights a year or more to be able to register for business rates @Jane4321  (check with your council)

I havent  heard about a certificate of lawfulness. 

don't forget you need a fire assessment under the 2023/24 fire regulations (you will already have this for rooms in your home) and a boiler annual check. 

[Jane4321]

Thanks Helen. It's good to know that 140 days would support business rates. Another reason to go with 140 days (see Wendy's response below)

I'm in the process of doing the fire risk assessment.

[Wendy-May0 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Jane4321 , this is a good question, and you are tackling it the exact right way by going straight to the council. Getting the Certificate of Lawfulness (CoL) is definitely the move to formalise everything and protect yourself long-term.

You're running into the core confusion for UK hosts: outside of London, there is no hard national limit.

 

Why the council is being vague:

The council is asking you for a number because they need to assess whether renting the whole house constitutes a "material change of use."

Your home is a C3 residential dwelling. If you say you will rent it for 360 nights a year, they will certainly argue it is commercial property. They are waiting for you to suggest a number that keeps it clearly a residential home with occasional short-term letting.

 

Strategic number to propose:

Since you are already hosting rooms and the house remains your main residence, you have a strong case. When you apply for the CoL, you need to propose a figure that is flexible for you but still looks clearly non-commercial to the council.

Many experienced hosts outside of London who have successfully navigated this process often propose a figure around the 140 to 150 nights per year mark.

• Why 140-150? It gives you plenty of flexibility (far more than London's 90 days) but is still clearly under half a year. This number is generally seen as safe enough not to automatically trigger a "material change of use" designation in most councils.

My advice is to propose 140 nights in your application. That, combined with the fact that you still reside there (which you must emphasise), gives the Staffordshire Moorlands council a clear, defensible number to approve your Certificate of Lawfulness against.

Have you already prepared the evidence showing it is still your main residence, like voter registration or utility bills?

[Jane4321]

Thanks Wendy! This was super helpful. I had thought maybe a period around 150 days would be acceptable.  Yes, i have plenty of evidence that it's my main residence currently. 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Jane4321 , 

How are things progressing with setting up your listing and making sure you’re meeting local laws and requirements? Hope suggestions from Wendy and Helen have helped. If you have any questions or need further support along the way, feel free to reach out or ask questions!

Regards,