Ex-council flat owner seeks permission for £95/night AirBnB lets

Since the start of this month, AirBnB has introduced a 90-days-a-year limit on home listings in Greater London, unless the host can prove that they have planning permission for change of use.

The first planning application in SE1 for such a change of use (16/AP/5142) has now been submitted to Southwark Council by Ray Lewis who rents out a flat in Telford House on the Rockingham Estate for £95 a night on AirBnB.

Mr Lewis is seeking temporary change of use from class C3 (flat) to class C1 (short-term accommodation) for the next five years.

Urbanist Architecture, which prepared the planning application, claims that there have been no complaints from neighbours about the use of the Tiverton Street flat by AirBnB guests to date.

According to the planning application documents, allowing the change of use will "benefit the host financially, the guest by providing an authentic living experience, and the borough by allowing tourism to continue to flourish in the London Borough of Southwark".