diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/config/basics/HostLearningConfig.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/config/basics/HostLearningConfig.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7a4a5a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/config/basics/HostLearningConfig.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2016-present Open Networking Foundation
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.onosproject.net.config.basics;
+
+import org.onosproject.net.ConnectPoint;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.Config;
+
+/**
+ * Configuration for enabling/disabling host learning.
+ */
+public class HostLearningConfig extends Config<ConnectPoint> {
+    private static final String ENABLED = "enabled";
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isValid() {
+        return isBoolean(ENABLED, FieldPresence.MANDATORY);
+    }
+
+    public Boolean hostLearningEnabled() {
+        return get(ENABLED, true);
+    }
+
+    public void setEnabled(String boolString) {
+        object.put(ENABLED, boolString);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/config/basics/HostLearningConfigTest.java b/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/config/basics/HostLearningConfigTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21467c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/test/java/org/onosproject/net/config/basics/HostLearningConfigTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2016-present Open Networking Foundation
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.onosproject.net.config.basics;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.onosproject.core.CoreService;
+import org.onosproject.net.ConnectPoint;
+import org.onosproject.net.DeviceId;
+import org.onosproject.net.PortNumber;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.Config;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.ConfigApplyDelegate;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.InvalidFieldException;
+
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.net.URI;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+
+/**
+ * Tests for class {@link HostLearningConfig}.
+ */
+@Beta
+public class HostLearningConfigTest {
+    private ConnectPoint cp;
+    private HostLearningConfig config;
+    private HostLearningConfig invalidConfig;
+
+    /**
+     * Initialize test related variables.
+     *
+     * @throws Exception
+     */
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws Exception {
+        InputStream jsonStream = HostLearningConfigTest.class
+                .getResourceAsStream("/host-learning-config.json");
+        InputStream invalidJsonStream = HostLearningConfigTest.class
+                .getResourceAsStream("/host-learning-config-invalid.json");
+
+        cp = new ConnectPoint(DeviceId.deviceId(new URI("of:0000000000000202")), PortNumber.portNumber((long) 5));
+        ConnectPoint subject = cp;
+        String key = CoreService.CORE_APP_NAME;
+        ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+        JsonNode jsonNode = mapper.readTree(jsonStream);
+        JsonNode invalidJsonNode = mapper.readTree(invalidJsonStream);
+        ConfigApplyDelegate delegate = new MockDelegate();
+
+        config = new HostLearningConfig();
+        config.init(subject, key, jsonNode, mapper, delegate);
+        invalidConfig = new HostLearningConfig();
+        invalidConfig.init(subject, key, invalidJsonNode, mapper, delegate);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Tests config validity.
+     *
+     */
+    @Test(expected = InvalidFieldException.class)
+    public void isValid() {
+        assertTrue(config.isValid());
+        assertFalse(invalidConfig.isValid());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Tests enabled setter.
+     *
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testEnableLearning() {
+        config.setEnabled("false");
+        assertTrue(!config.hostLearningEnabled());
+        config.setEnabled("true");
+        assertTrue(config.hostLearningEnabled());
+    }
+
+    private class MockDelegate implements ConfigApplyDelegate {
+        @Override
+        public void onApply(Config config) {
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/api/src/test/resources/host-learning-config-invalid.json b/core/api/src/test/resources/host-learning-config-invalid.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..414b7c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/test/resources/host-learning-config-invalid.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "not-enabled" : false
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/api/src/test/resources/host-learning-config.json b/core/api/src/test/resources/host-learning-config.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ff6266
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/test/resources/host-learning-config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "enabled" : true
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/providers/host/src/main/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProvider.java b/providers/host/src/main/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProvider.java
index 40e67b5..edc5ef5 100644
--- a/providers/host/src/main/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProvider.java
+++ b/providers/host/src/main/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProvider.java
@@ -54,6 +54,14 @@
 import org.onosproject.cfg.ComponentConfigService;
 import org.onosproject.core.ApplicationId;
 import org.onosproject.core.CoreService;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.ConfigFactory;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.NetworkConfigEvent;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.NetworkConfigListener;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.NetworkConfigRegistry;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.NetworkConfigService;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.basics.BasicHostConfig;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.basics.HostLearningConfig;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.basics.SubjectFactories;
 import org.onosproject.net.intf.InterfaceService;
 import org.onosproject.net.ConnectPoint;
 import org.onosproject.net.Device;
@@ -130,10 +138,14 @@
     protected ComponentConfigService cfgService;
 
     @Reference(cardinality = ReferenceCardinality.MANDATORY_UNARY)
+    protected NetworkConfigRegistry registry;
+
+    @Reference(cardinality = ReferenceCardinality.MANDATORY_UNARY)
     protected InterfaceService interfaceService;
 
     private final InternalHostProvider processor = new InternalHostProvider();
     private final DeviceListener deviceListener = new InternalDeviceListener();
+    private final InternalConfigListener cfgListener = new InternalConfigListener();
 
     private ApplicationId appId;
 
@@ -173,6 +185,19 @@
     private ExecutorService probeEventHandler;
     private ExecutorService packetHandler;
 
+    @Reference(cardinality = ReferenceCardinality.MANDATORY_UNARY)
+    protected NetworkConfigService netcfgService;
+
+    private ConfigFactory<ConnectPoint, HostLearningConfig> hostLearningConfig =
+            new ConfigFactory<ConnectPoint, HostLearningConfig>(
+                    SubjectFactories.CONNECT_POINT_SUBJECT_FACTORY,
+                    HostLearningConfig.class, "hostLearning") {
+                @Override
+                public HostLearningConfig createConfig() {
+                    return new HostLearningConfig();
+                }
+            };
+
     /**
      * Creates an OpenFlow host provider.
      */
@@ -193,8 +218,9 @@
         providerService = providerRegistry.register(this);
         packetService.addProcessor(processor, PacketProcessor.advisor(1));
         deviceService.addListener(deviceListener);
-
+        registry.registerConfigFactory(hostLearningConfig);
         modified(context);
+        netcfgService.addListener(cfgListener);
 
         log.info("Started with Application ID {}", appId.id());
     }
@@ -212,6 +238,8 @@
         probeEventHandler.shutdown();
         packetHandler.shutdown();
         providerService = null;
+        registry.unregisterConfigFactory(hostLearningConfig);
+        netcfgService.removeListener(cfgListener);
         log.info("Stopped");
     }
 
@@ -517,6 +545,13 @@
                 return;
             }
 
+            HostLearningConfig cfg = netcfgService.getConfig(heardOn, HostLearningConfig.class);
+            // if learning is disabled bail out.
+            if ((cfg != null) && (!cfg.hostLearningEnabled())) {
+                log.debug("Learning disabled for {}, abort.", heardOn);
+                return;
+            }
+
             // ARP: possible new hosts, update both location and IP
             if (eth.getEtherType() == Ethernet.TYPE_ARP) {
                 ARP arp = (ARP) eth.getPayload();
@@ -775,4 +810,45 @@
         );
     }
 
+
+    private class InternalConfigListener implements NetworkConfigListener {
+
+        @Override
+        public void event(NetworkConfigEvent event) {
+            switch (event.type()) {
+                case CONFIG_ADDED:
+                case CONFIG_UPDATED:
+                    log.debug("HostLearningConfig event of type  {}", event.type());
+                    // if learning enabled do nothing
+                    HostLearningConfig learningConfig = (HostLearningConfig) event.config().get();
+                    if (learningConfig.hostLearningEnabled()) {
+                        return;
+                    }
+
+                    // if host learning is disable remove this location from existing, learnt hosts
+                    ConnectPoint connectPoint = learningConfig.subject();
+                    Set<Host> connectedHosts = hostService.getConnectedHosts(connectPoint);
+                    for (Host host : connectedHosts) {
+                        BasicHostConfig hostConfig = netcfgService.getConfig(host.id(), BasicHostConfig.class);
+
+                        if ((hostConfig == null) || (!hostConfig.locations().contains(connectPoint))) {
+                            // timestamp shoud not matter for comparing HostLocation and ConnectPoint
+                            providerService.removeLocationFromHost(host.id(), new HostLocation(connectPoint, 1));
+                        }
+                    }
+                    break;
+                case CONFIG_REMOVED:
+                default:
+                    break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean isRelevant(NetworkConfigEvent event) {
+            if (!event.configClass().equals(HostLearningConfig.class)) {
+                return false;
+            }
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/providers/host/src/test/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProviderTest.java b/providers/host/src/test/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProviderTest.java
index 89a6ef8..9971921 100644
--- a/providers/host/src/test/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProviderTest.java
+++ b/providers/host/src/test/java/org/onosproject/provider/host/impl/HostLocationProviderTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
+import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
 import com.google.common.util.concurrent.MoreExecutors;
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
@@ -52,6 +53,9 @@
 import org.onosproject.core.ApplicationId;
 import org.onosproject.core.CoreService;
 import org.onosproject.core.DefaultApplicationId;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.Config;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.NetworkConfigRegistryAdapter;
+import org.onosproject.net.config.NetworkConfigServiceAdapter;
 import org.onosproject.net.intf.Interface;
 import org.onosproject.net.intf.InterfaceListener;
 import org.onosproject.net.intf.InterfaceService;
@@ -209,6 +213,8 @@
     private final TestHostService hostService = new TestHostService();
     private final TestPacketService packetService = new TestPacketService();
     private final TestInterfaceService interfaceService = new TestInterfaceService();
+    private final TestNetworkConfigRegistryAdapter registryAdapter = new TestNetworkConfigRegistryAdapter();
+    private final TestNetworkConfigService netcfgService = new TestNetworkConfigService();
 
     private PacketProcessor testProcessor;
     private CoreService coreService;
@@ -233,7 +239,8 @@
         provider.deviceService = deviceService;
         provider.hostService = hostService;
         provider.interfaceService = interfaceService;
-
+        provider.registry = registryAdapter;
+        provider.netcfgService = netcfgService;
         provider.activate(CTX_FOR_NO_REMOVE);
 
         provider.deviceEventHandler = MoreExecutors.newDirectExecutorService();
@@ -1244,4 +1251,20 @@
             return false;
         }
     }
+
+    private class TestNetworkConfigRegistryAdapter extends NetworkConfigRegistryAdapter {
+        private Set<Config> configs = Sets.newHashSet();
+
+        @Override
+        public <S, C extends Config<S>> C getConfig(S subject, Class<C> configClass) {
+            Config c = configs.stream()
+                    .filter(config -> subject.equals(config.subject()))
+                    .filter(config -> configClass.equals(config.getClass()))
+                    .findFirst().orElse(null);
+            return (C) c;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private class TestNetworkConfigService extends NetworkConfigServiceAdapter {
+    }
 }