Short lets in England: the register, the 2025 tax change and the fire rules
If you run or clean holiday lets in England, the government now expects its national short-let register to open in March 2027, the furnished holiday lettings tax regime ended on 6 April 2025, and even a small flat let to guests needs a fire risk assessment you keep on record. Upbridge's AI operations assistant, Cleo, works over WhatsApp with vacation rental operators and cleaning companies and organizes the cleanings and the inventory for each place.
The rules in England
We've only looked at England so far. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own rules, and this page doesn't cover them. Every row was checked on 23 October 2026.
| Topic | What it says | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| National register | Every short let in England will have to be registered. GOV.UK said on 2 October 2026 that the scheme is expected to begin in March 2027, and the government still hasn't published what hosts will have to submit or how often. | Not yet in force | GOV.UK |
| Income tax | The furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished on 6 April 2025. From the 2025 to 2026 tax year, income from a holiday let is taxed under the same rules as any residential landlord's, and the old FHL reliefs are gone. | In force | GOV.UK |
| Fire safety | A let on the ground floor, or the ground and first floor, sleeping up to 10 people follows the government's guide for small paying guest accommodation. Whoever controls the place (the owner, the letting agent or someone else) has to do a fire risk assessment and keep a record of it. | In force | GOV.UK guide |
| Business rates | A self-catering property pays business rates when, within 12 months, it was available to let for at least 140 nights and actually let for at least 70. | In force | GOV.UK |
| Planning permission | There's no national planning rule for short lets that we could confirm as in force. GOV.UK says your local council decides whether you need permission, looking at how the place is let and what that does to the neighbours. | No specific law | GOV.UK |
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, told the Commons on 3 September 2026 that it would be running by March 2027, Propertymark reported, and Clyde & Co wrote on 8 October that the framework comes from the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 and that it is not a planning control. Until the government publishes the details, nobody can tell you exactly what you'll be asked for.
This is not legal or tax advice, and Upbridge does not file anything for you: no registrations and no tax returns.
What the fire guide means on changeover day
The guide asks for interlinked smoke alarms in the hallways, landings, living rooms and bedrooms, and heat alarms in the kitchen. It also says the information pack you give guests should show the escape route and where the exit doors are. So a changeover is the natural moment to check that the alarms are still on the ceiling and that the escape route note is still in the flat, because the cleaner is the last person in before the guest.
For tax, the end of the FHL rules means a holiday let is now treated like any other rental for income tax. If you or the owners you work for were counting on the old reliefs, that's a conversation to have with an accountant before the next return.
Where Upbridge fits
Upbridge's founders started out in Brighton, working with cleaning companies. We don't touch the register, the tax or the risk assessment. What we do is the work between one guest and the next: every checkout on your calendar becomes a cleaning with a room-by-room photo checklist, and you can add an item such as "smoke alarm in place" so it gets a photo at every changeover, and we build the guest guide that holds your arrival instructions and the escape route.
There are pages for Brighton and London, where the 90-night limit applies on top of these rules, and for Edinburgh, where hosts need a licence under Scotland's own scheme. There's also Manchester, and Cornwall, where second homes pay double council tax. Bath has its own page, and so does Eryri (Snowdonia), which follows Wales's rules on registering and rating holiday lets. In the north of England there are pages for the Lake District, where the park authority wants a say over new holiday lets, and for York. More places will follow.
Questions about short lets in England
When does England's short-let register start?
GOV.UK said on 2 October 2026 that the national registration scheme is expected to begin in March 2027. What hosts will have to submit hasn't been published yet.
Do furnished holiday lettings tax rules still apply?
No. The FHL regime was abolished on 6 April 2025, and from the 2025 to 2026 tax year holiday let income is taxed under the usual residential landlord rules.
Does a small holiday let in England need a fire risk assessment?
Yes. The government guide for small paying guest accommodation, updated 20 January 2025, says the responsible person has to carry one out and keep a record of it.
Sources
Checked on 23 October 2026
- GOV.UK, “Letting out a self-catering holiday home in England: rules and regulations”, updated 2 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, “Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire”, updated 20 January 2025.
- GOV.UK, “Apply for business rates for a self-catering property in England”, updated 29 September 2026.
- Propertymark, “National short-term lets register promised by March 2027”, 4 September 2026.
- Clyde & Co, Lauren Brooks, “England's Short-Let Registration Scheme: What the March 2027 Launch Means for Serviced Apartment Providers”, 8 October 2026.