Completed petition Allow exemptions to the 182-day occupancy rule to reduce harm to real Welsh self-catering businesses
The Trade Associations that represent genuine self-catering businesses in Wales (Wales Tourism Alliance, UK Hospitality Cymru and PASC UK Wales Branch) will meet Welsh Government with a view to agreeing mitigation measures to reduce the harm that the introduction of the 182-day occupancy rule will cause real Welsh-owned self-catering businesses. These are not second homes or casual lets. Over 30% of these businesses have said that they will have to close or sell without these exemptions.
More details
The Body of Evidence of harm: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/wales-182-days-reports/
KEY ASKS
- The day count not to start from April 22, ie retrospectively.
- An appeal process
EXEMPTIONS
- Lets limited by planning permission
- Lets that lie within the curtilage of a primary residence
- Multiple units on one site can average occupancy across the units.
- Where the units are not housing stock withdrawn from the market but can be proved through recorded planning and building control that they have been created from vacant commercial or agricultural buildings or farm diversification.
- The property is run by a charity
- Weeks given by owners to charities should count towards days let.
- If your short-let business is VAT rated
- Review of 182 days if Wales officially goes into recession, pandemics or forced local closure.
- Period of grace for new business entrants
DISPENSATION
Account taken of days to carry out repairs/property improvements or for ill-health or caring responsibilities
This petition was considered by the Petitions Committee
Find out about the Petitions Committee’s discussion of this petition