London apartments & rentals: how to choose
A flat on a residential street — a Notting Hill mews, a Shoreditch warehouse conversion, a Bermondsey terrace — is the way to live in London rather than visit it, and for families and groups it usually beats two hotel rooms on price. But Greater London has a specific legal cap on short-term lets, so the legality check below is worth two minutes before you book.
⚠︎ Book a legal listing
In Greater London, an entire home may only be let short-term (stays under 90 consecutive nights) for a maximum of 90 nights per calendar year — a limit set by the Deregulation Act 2015, which amended the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973. Letting beyond 90 nights a year requires planning permission from the local borough for a change of use, and a host must be liable for council tax at the property. Airbnb enforces the 90-night cap automatically on entire-home London listings, but listings on other platforms may not be capped — a professionally managed flat that is clearly let year-round without permission is the kind of listing that gets cancelled. Purpose-built serviced apartments and aparthotels are a separate, unrestricted category and the safest choice for legal certainty.
Rules change — confirm the current requirements: London.gov.uk — guidance on short-term and holiday lets in London.
Who a rental suits
Rentals suit families and groups (one flat vs two-plus compact hotel rooms), stays of a week or more where a kitchen and laundry pay off, and travelers who want a residential street in Notting Hill, Shoreditch or Bermondsey over a hotel district. For a 2–3 night trip the check-in logistics and cleaning fees usually make a hotel simpler and no more expensive.
Verify before you book
- That the listing looks like someone’s actual home or a declared serviced apartment — not an anonymous year-round unit skirting the 90-night rule (those are the bookings that get cancelled).
- Walking time to the nearest Tube or rail station, checked on a map — "15 minutes to Oxford Street" often means by train, not on foot.
- What floor the flat is on and whether there’s a lift — London conversions routinely put "second floor" flats up three flights of narrow stairs.
- Heating controls for winter and any cooling for summer — most London flats have no air conditioning at all.
- Exact check-in logistics and key handoff, since many hosts are off-site and building access codes fail more often than lockboxes.
- Recent reviews mentioning street noise (single-glazed sash windows carry sound), water pressure and host responsiveness.
Where to look for rentals
Rental supply is deepest where Londoners actually live: Shoreditch, Hackney and Bethnal Green in the east; Notting Hill, Bayswater and Paddington in the west; Bermondsey and Borough south of the river. The West End itself has thin, expensive rental stock — if you want that central, a serviced apartment or aparthotel (a large and growing London category) delivers the kitchen without the legal grey area.
Check live rentals & availability
Browse current London rentals on Vrbo — favor listings that look like a real home or a declared serviced apartment.
Check London rentals on Vrbo →Some booking links are affiliate links — if you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which options we recommend.
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