'The 182-night rule isn't solving housing crisis... but is closing businesses'

Holiday cottage owners who say they're unfairly penalised by Welsh Govt efforts to clamp down on‘second homes in disguise’ have joined forces to call for an urgent rethink. Owen Hughes reports

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GROUP of Welsh holiday cottage owners has joined a campaign calling for reform of what they describe as a “punitive” rule that is forcing tourism businesses to close.

Let's Review 182, led by Gwynedd farmer and tourism entrepreneur Gwion Llwyd, calls for urgent reform of the 182-night minimum occupancy rule for self-catering businesses in Wales to qualify for business rates.

The criteria was changed from a 70-night minimum as part of measures by the Welsh Government aimed at tackling the number of second homes and holiday lets.

Failure to meet the threshold means facing paying council tax, with a second home premium added.

The campaign argues that while the Welsh Government may have intended to address housing availability, the main outcome of the 182-night threshold has been to harm small business owners who have invested in legitimate tourism enterprises.

"The current rule doesn’t just set a high bar - it punishes responsible business owners for a housing problem they didn’t create,” says Gwion Llwyd, founder of the Let’s Review 182 campaign.

“Wales is demanding 182 nights for holiday cottage businesses to qualify for business rates - that’s 2.6 times more than Scotland or England, which both set the bar at just 70 nights.

“This isn't about second homes in disguise - these are real small businesses that provide local families with income and keep local cleaners, tradespeople, shops and cafes, a whole tourism supply chain, in work.”

The Let's Review 182 campaign has two clear demands:

■ Reduce the threshold to 105 nights ~ the figure most widely supported in the Welsh Government’s own consultation.

I Introduce a two-year grace period ~so genuine businesses are notharsh-ly penalised for a single difficult year.