In a bid to protect London's housing supply from the impact of short-term lets, Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling on the Government to hand him powers to bring in a licensing scheme.
The rise of short-term lets, helped by platforms like Airbnb, has contributed to the city's housing crisis, the mayor says.
He points to an alarming 81,792 listings on Airbnb alone in July - and a staggering 50,401 of these are entire properties.
The data shows that one in every 74 homes in the capital is potentially available for short-term letting.
'Short-term lets play an important role'
Mr Khan said: "Short-term lets play an important role in London's tourism industry, but that mustn't come at the expense of Londoners who need a place to live.
"We need transparency about how many properties are being rented out for longer than the rules permit, and accountability to local authorities and residents."
He added: "This is why I'm calling on the Government to work with me and borough councils to design a licencing system to bring some order to this rapidly growing sector and prevent us losing yet more homes for Londoners to the short-term let sector."
Many short-term lets are breaking the 90-day rule
Mr Khan says the lack of adequate regulation and resources for monitoring by boroughs has raised concerns that many short-term lets are breaking the 90-day rule - the maximum a home can rented out on a short-term basis.
The proposed licensing system would see local authorities controlling the number of licences being granted in each area.
This would, the mayor claims, help prevent blocks or streets from being transformed into exclusively short-term let properties.
The issue has been highlighted with news earlier this year that a residential block in Westminster had more than 90% of the 118 units listed for short-term let availability.
Looking to retain its status as a tourism hotspot
There is a balance to be struck since London is looking to retain its status as a tourism hotspot and delivering affordable homes.
And, by bringing in a licensing framework, London will be able to protect housing for visitors and residents alike.
The leader of Camden Council, Cllr Georgia Gould, said: "In Camden we have seen the use of residential properties as short-term lets regularly exceed what is lawfully permitted.
"Last year alone we recorded over 4,400 short-term lets in our borough, of which almost a quarter (24%) exceeded the 90-night limit."
She added: "There are simply no meaningful consequences to deter people from breaching the current legislation and landlords regularly use avoidance tactics to bypass the rules."
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said: "Most landlords with a short-term let in London will be alarmed at this proposal since other landlord licensing schemes leave a lot to be desired.
"While the mayor believes that short-term lets are exceeding the 90 days limit, who is to say that a licensing system will see these properties being inspected to enforce the rule?"
