Westminster City Council is supporting a proposed data-sharing agreement that would allow it to use HMRC tax data to identify property owners suspected of illegally operating short-term lets. The council believes access to this information could strengthen enforcement of London's 90-night short-let rule.
Homeowners in London can generally let their property for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without requiring planning permission. Exceeding this limit typically necessitates obtaining planning permission or facing potential enforcement action.
The council estimates that Westminster has over 13,000 short-term rentals, with more than 10,000 being entire properties. At least 2,700 properties are suspected of being let unlawfully beyond the 90-night limit. Council figures indicate that 9,389 homes were let for more than 90 nights in 2024, representing 68% of all whole homes offered for short-term letting in Westminster.
Westminster leader Paul Swaddle has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden to support greater data sharing. The National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which matches data from public and private sector bodies to detect fraud, is currently discussing a data-sharing agreement with HMRC. If agreed, Westminster could seek access to HMRC information via the NFI to help identify potential short-let breaches and support planning enforcement.
Swaddle stated that matching addresses and income indicators could help identify properties that should not be used as short-term lets and allow them to be restored for housing individuals and families. The council also hopes this could help uncover council and social housing being illegally offered as holiday accommodation.
The council does not currently have access to the proposed HMRC data, as the HMRC-NFI data-sharing agreement remains under discussion.