Written question WQ97291

The Regulatory Impact Assessment for this policy was published alongside the associated legislation in May 2022. We now know that 60% of holiday lets have met the new letting criteria. This exceeds the levels predicted by the self-catering sector and historical occupancy estimates included in the impact assessment. Many properties in all parts of Wales have met the criteria, demonstrating this is achievable where supply does not exceed demand.

An open public consultation on proposed refinements to the application of the criteria used to classify self-catering properties for local taxation purposes has been published and shared with tourism industry representatives. There are regular opportunities for industry representatives to engage with the Welsh Government on a range of policy matters, through existing fora and meetings with Ministers. Our proposals respond, in the manner considered appropriate, to matters raised by the self-catering tourism sector during implementation of the new letting thresholds.

The recommendations of all stakeholders in respect of the letting thresholds were considered by Ministers following our consultation in 2021 on local taxes for second homes and self-catering holiday lets and our technical consultation in 2022 on the draft legislation to give effect to the policy decision. The impact assessment for the legislation confirmed that other options for letting thresholds were considered at the time (including 105 days). Lower thresholds were not pursued because they would not align to the Welsh Government’s position that self-catering properties should be let for the majority of the year, in order to be classified as non-domestic.