Self-catering holiday lets in England qualify for business rates rather than Council Tax where the standard tests are met: the property was available for commercial letting for at least 140 nights in a 12-month period
GOV, was actually let commercially for at least 70 nights in the same periodGOV, and the owner intends to make it available commercially for at least 140 nights in the following 12 monthsGOV. Nights the property was closed for repair or refurbishment, nights the site was closed, nights of private use including discounted lets to friends or family, and future bookings that have not happened yet cannot be counted. Where a stay lasts more than 28 nights, those nights do not count towards the 70-night letting test but can count towards the 140-night availability test, but only where the property could have been booked for 28 nights or less.
From 24 July 2026 the guidance adds two situations in which the backward-looking tests fall awayGOV. Owners of a property containing five or more self-catering holiday lets qualify for business rates where the lets are part of the same propertyGOV, none is used as anyone's sole or main residenceGOV, and the owner intends to make each let available for at least 140 days over the next 12 monthsGOV. Those lets do not need to have been available for at least 140 days or actually let for at least 70 daysGOV. The same forward-only test applies where a self-catering holiday let shares land with a business property used for a different purposeGOV: both businesses must be operated by the same person or businessGOV, the let must not be used as a sole or main residenceGOV, and the owner must intend to make it available for at least 140 days over the next 12 monthsGOV, again with no need to show past availability or lettingGOV. The guidance illustrates this with a pub and a cottage sharing land, where the cottage is let for short-term stays and the owner intends 140 days of availability over the next 12 months.
The standard tests sit within the statutory framework for short-stay accommodation in section 66 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988GOV: availability for commercial letting for short periods totalling 140 days or moreGOV, with the additional 70-day actual-letting condition applying in EnglandGOV. The rating manual notes that a property that has not yet met those conditions stays in the Council Tax valuation list until the day it first satisfies them.
There are also two procedural changes. Applicants owning five or more properties, or whose business property has multiple uses, must say so in the 'Further information or remarks' section of the application formGOV, with one form completed for each eligible propertyGOV. And completed forms must now be emailed to selfcatering@hmrc.gov.ukGOV with the subject heading 'Self-catering application — England'GOV, replacing the previous selfcatering@voa.gov.uk addressGOV; postal applications go to the Valuation Officer at Wycliffe House, Green Lane, Durham DH1 3UW.
Legal basis: Local Government Finance Act 1988, section 66.
Owners of 5+ lets in one property, or of a let sharing land with another business, should apply for business rates on the forward 140-day test, flag the position in the form’s remarks section, and send the form to selfcatering@hmrc.gov.uk.
