Glossary
Serviced accommodation: SA, short-term let
Furnished property let by the night to guests, workers and contractors.
What it means
Serviced accommodation is a furnished property let for short stays through booking platforms or direct to companies. Nightly rates can beat a monthly let by a wide margin, but occupancy, cleaning, platform fees, furnishing and council tax or business rates eat into it. The furnished holiday lettings tax regime was abolished from April 2025, and some areas now control short lets through planning or registration.
Worked example
ExampleA one-bed city flat at £95 a night with 65% occupancy.
- Nights let
- 365 × 65% = 237
- Gross income
- 237 × £95 = £22,515
- Fees, cleaning, bills
- about £9,000
Around £13,500 before the mortgage, compared with perhaps £9,000 from a standard let.
Information, not advice. Example figures are fictional and for illustration only.