Holiday let reform 'inconsistent, confusing and deeply unfair'

'I can't overstate the mental stress' said one farmer over the Welsh Government's controversial shake-up of holiday home rules. Andrew Forgrave reports

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A RULE designed to tackle the rising number of holiday homes in Wales is causing immense “mental stress” says a farming family.

Introduced by the Welsh Government in April 2023, the ‘182 rule’ requires holiday cottages to be available for at least 252 days and actually let for 182 days per year to qualify for business rates.

Those who fall short are reclassified as second homes and hit with council tax bills - in some areas facing a potential premium charge of up to 300%, although no council charges that rate as yet.

It was designed to reduce the number of holiday homes - particularly second homes - in parts of Wales where some locals are priced out the market.

But it has also caused heartache for genuine holiday lets and a campaign is under way to reduce the threshold letting figure to 105 days. The Let’s Review 182 campaign also wants to introduce a two-year grace period - so owners aren't punished for one difficult year.

For some Welsh hill farmers, the 182 rule has turned successful diversification into a potential crisis.

One farmer from Meirionnydd, who wishes to remain anonymous, is now questioning whether his business can continue. The farmer converted an old stable and workshop into a five-star self-catering cottage to help sustain the family farm.

But when the new rules came into force, he discovered they were being applied retrospectively — making his holiday cottage liable for new threshold requirements for the year before the new law even existed.

He said: “We fully complied with the old rule of 140 days’ availability and 70 days actually let. But when the rules changed to 252/182 in April 2023, we were suddenly told we hadn't met the new threshold for the previous year. Despite having met all the rules as they stood at the time, we were removed from the business rating list and hit with a council tax bill running into thousands of pounds.