New rules around holiday lets and other short-term accommodation in Wales are set to bring new complexity and costs for landlords, Propertymark has warned.
The changes have been proposed under the Development of Tourism and Regulation of Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Bill which will cover holiday lets, mobile homes and vessels.
According to Propertymark this is a “significant shift” to a proactive, central licensing framework.
Licensing of visitor accommodation will be introduced by the bill, and require providers of self-contained, self-catering accommodation to hold a licence and ensure their property meets new standards.
Propertymark welcomes this approach to raise standards and help landlords meet safety requirements, but has warned about the added costs this will bring.
As such, the group is recommending landlords audit their properties to ensure they meet such high standards and to monitor legislation as it evolves.
Elsewhere, visitor accommodation registration with the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) has already been confirmed and will start in autumn 2026. It applies to premises where visitors are charged for an overnight stay and any booking taken is for 31 nights or less.
Additionally, the Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Act 2025 gives councils the option to introduce a visitor levy from 1 April 2027. Rates are set at 75p per person per night for hostels/campsites and £1.30 for other accommodation.
The WRA will collect the visitor levy on behalf of local authorities.
Propertymark supported a “fair and targeted” visitor levy approach at consultation, and has confirmed it will continue to scrutinise the current plans to avoid “unintended consequences for private landlords.”
