Airbnb introduces 90-day annual limit for London hosts

Accommodation website bans hosts in UK capital from renting out entire home beyond time limit without consent from council

A quarter of London homes listed on Airbnb were rented for more than 90 days last year, many illegally and in breach of an act intended to stop landlords turning badly needed housing into unofficial hotels. The booming homesharing website admitted on Thursday that 4,938 of its "entire home" London listings - 23% of the total - were let out for for three months or more, despite a law requiring anyone doing so to apply for planning permission.

The San Francisco-based website published an independent report into its activities by the thinktank IPPR that concluded: "It is likely there are many cases where planning permission for a change of use has not been obtained."