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5/12/25 4:43 pm
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Landlords in Wales could soon need a licence for their short-let properties as the government bids to level the playing field with the long-term letting sector.
The Development of Tourism and Regulation of Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Bill covers self-contained, self-catering accommodation such as holiday cottages and flats which will need to prove they meet standards showing that the accommodation is fit for visitors, including gas and electrical safety certificates, insurance, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Speaking in the Senedd, Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, told MSs the requirements that short-let landlords would need to meet would more closely parallel those on a long-term basis, “removing an incentive for people to let on a short-term basis because they think that’s an easier regulatory route for them”.
Licensing fees would be kept to about £75 because, he explained, the law would require businesses “essentially to do the things they ought to be doing already, plus making sure that they have public liability insurance”. It is hoped artificial intelligence could be used so that information is automatically uploaded and checked.
Drakeford predicted that prosecution would be “very rare”. He added: “The aim of the Bill is not to have prosecution…it is to encourage people to comply with the requirements and to make it as easy as possible for them to do that.”
If the plans are given the go-ahead by the Senedd, the Welsh government expects the licensing scheme to be rolled out in 2028-29.
The move comes after the Senedd passed the Visitor Levy Bill which lets councils introduce a charge on overnight stays, with all funds reinvested to help councils cover the costs associated with hosting visitors such as street cleaning, waste collection, and maintaining toilets.
Councils could force holiday-let landlords to collect a £1.30 per-person, per-night fee from April next year. The law also creates a national register for all visitor accommodation providers operating in Wales.
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