Updated 2026-10-01
Second homes and holiday lets: the 2026 rules
Since 31 October 2024 the SDLT surcharge for an additional dwelling is 5 percentage points, and from April 2025 English councils can charge a 100 per cent council-tax premium on furnished second homes. This guide gathers the rules, the figures, and their sources in one place.
The furnished holiday lettings regime is gone
The furnished holiday letting tax regime was abolished: the income-tax and capital-gains effects apply from 6 April 2025 and the corporation-tax effect from 1 April 2025. If a cottage's numbers only worked with those allowances, they need reworking on today's rules.
Council tax premiums across Britain
In England, authorities can charge up to a 100 per cent premium on second homes from 1 April 2025. In Wales the ceiling is 300 per cent, in force since April 2023. In Scotland, the cap that limited premiums to doubling ended on 1 April 2026, so authorities there may charge more. Cardiff's visitor levy of 1.30 pounds per person per night starts on 1 April 2027.
Short-term letting registration
England's mandatory national registration scheme for short-term lets is expected to begin in 2026 and is not yet in force; the sector body expects it fully operational by March 2027. Scotland's licensing scheme has been mandatory since 1 October 2022. Nothing to register yet in England, but plan for the paperwork.
Sources
- HMRC policy paper (SRC-009)
- MHCLG / legislation.gov.uk (LURA 2023) (SRC-010)
- mygov.scot; gov.wales (SRC-011)
- gov.uk guidance; Propertymark (SRC-014)
- House of Commons Library CBP-8395 (SRC-015)
Land Registry figures contain HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, under the Open Government Licence v3.0.