Second homes report: Committee's fifteen recommendations debated in Senedd

The Local Government and Housing Committee’s report on second homes was debated in the Senedd on 5 October 2022. 

In June, the Committee made 15 recommendations to Welsh Government, including backing the NRLA’s call for the use of consistent definitions of what ‘second homes’ are when designing policies. 

This week Julie James MS, Minister for Climate Change, wrote a response to John Griffiths MS, Chair of the committee. 

In her response, Ms James agreed to the recommendations set out by the committee, including the NRLA’s call for the use of consistent definitions of what ‘second homes’ are. 

In the NRLA’s response to a consultation as part of a the second homes inquiry, the NRLA made it abundantly clear that the Private Rented Sector should not be caught up in any legislative changes aimed at restricting the number of second homes. 

This means that the committee agreed with us that private landlords should not face council tax premiums of up to 200%, unlike those property owners who have invested in holiday lets.  

In response to the committee’s recommendation for a clearer definition of ‘second homes’, the Welsh Government said: 

“The Welsh Government is currently considering opportunities to harmonise, as far as possible, the definition of a second home across its various uses (for example for national and local taxes, planning and tourism purposes).  

“Our decision to bring forward subordinate legislation drawing clear distinctions in a Use Class context between primary homes, second homes and short-term holiday lets offers one such opportunity.  

“A consultation exercise on statutory licensing for all holiday accommodation (including short-term holiday lets) will commence later in 2022. 

“While a single definition is not without challenge, given the multiple applications across taxation, planning and other domains, we will continue to consider where greater alignment can be achieved.” 

The full report can be found here and the Minister’s response to this report can be found here.