Ministers hope to scrap “outdated” laws which mean Londoners face a complex planning process if they want to rent out their homes for a week or two.
There is a huge demand for short-term lets in London, but it is illegal to rent out homes without obtaining special planning permission. These rules do not apply to the rest of the country.
Officials said many homeowners may be letting their homes for a few days when they go on holiday without knowing they are breaching rules.
At the moment any Londoner wanting to rent out their property for less than three months has to seek planning permission, as this is considered a change of use under the 1973 Greater London Powers Act.
But officials are considering scrapping the regulations, opening up a potentially lucrative line of income.
Housing minister Kris Hopkins said: “London is a holiday hotspot, with thousands of people visiting every year looking for somewhere comfortable and convenient to stay. Yet the capital’s homeowners get tangled in red tape each time they look to offer their homes. This, and the wide range of property websites offering opportunities to advertise homes for rent, makes this law increasingly outdated and unworkable.”
During the 2012 Olympics, homeowners looking to rent their properties to visitors found themselves falling foul of the law. Many websites — including the Evening Standard’s — list thousands of properties in London available for short-term lets.
Officials said that landlords may be completely unaware of the law.
Opening a consultation into aligning London with the rest of the country, Mr Hopkins said: “I want to hear whether we update this rule, or whether London needs its own rules at all, to ensure as flexible a market as possible for tenants and tourists alike.”
