Short-term let rules in Cambridge (updated 4 Nov 2026)
Last checked: 11 official source pages for this council scanned automatically for changes on 4 Nov 2026What changed
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Dates we're watching for Cambridge (3)
- 26 Nov 2026: Full Council considers submitting the Greater Cambridge Local Plan
- Dec 2026: Greater Cambridge Local Plan due to be submitted for examination
- Mar 2027: England short-term let register expected (GOV.UK)
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Latest change for all England holiday lets (3 Nov 2026): Budget 2026 details confirmed: from 1 April 2027 the higher Small Business Rate Relief thresholds (100% relief up to 拢18,000 rateable value, tapering to 拢21,000) cover self-catering holiday lets that pay business rates, and mortgage interest relief rises to 24% from 6 April 2027 once Finance Bill 2026-27 passes. Source
No change specific to Cambridge in our log (last checked 4 Nov 2026). Get free alerts for Cambridge so you hear when that changes, plus changes that apply across England.
100% council tax premium on second homes (200% bill) since 1 Apr 2025, with national exceptions; the council says this includes homes used for short-term holiday rental. Holiday lets that qualify for business rates (140 nights available, 70 let) pay business rates instead. No licensing or local registration scheme. The council treats whole-home short lets as a possible change of use needing planning permission, decided case by case.
Licensing or registration
None foundNo licensing or local registration scheme. A national short-term let register for England is coming under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023; GOV.UK (updated 2 Oct 2026) says it is expected to begin in March 2027.
Until then, the main local rules are council tax or business rates, planning, and fire safety.
Source: source
Control area / planning
None foundNo short-let control area, and no Article 4 direction aimed at holiday lets (checked 4 Nov 2026). The national planning data register lists 19 Article 4 directions for Cambridge: 18 cover pubs or former pubs (2014) and one the Accordia estate (2014); none is about holiday lets.
Whether letting a whole home as a short-term let is a material change of use is decided case by case. A council briefing note from March 2017 says short-term letting is not a material change of use while the home still meets the occupants' day-to-day residential needs, and that each complaint is judged as a matter of fact and degree: how many days a year it is let, how often guests change, its size, how many rooms are let, whether the host lives there and whether guests are one household.
Enforcement officers had already served planning contravention notices, and in January 2018 planning officers recommended 13 enforcement notices against flats at Florian House and Roman House (Severn Place) used as commercial short-term visitor accommodation without permission.
Under the Cambridge Local Plan 2018 (adopted October 2018), Policy 3 supports changing housing to other uses only in exceptional circumstances. The new Greater Cambridge Local Plan, prepared with South Cambridgeshire, goes further: draft Policy J/VA says that where planning permission is needed, converting homes to visitor accommodation in Cambridge will be allowed only in exceptional circumstances, and only if it does not harm residents' amenity and sense of security or the area's character; its supporting text names clusters of short lets near the railway station and at Trumpington Meadows.
Its final consultation ran from 3 Aug to 25 Sep 2026; a joint Cabinet on 17 Nov and Cambridge's Full Council on 26 Nov 2026 will consider submitting it in December 2026, with examination expected from spring 2027. It is not yet in force.
Visitor levy
None foundNo visitor levy. On 10 Sep 2026 the government announced that mayors and Foundation Strategic Authority leaders in England will get the power to bring in an Overnight Visitor Levy, as a percentage of the accommodation price. A bill is still to come, so nothing applies yet.
Source: source
Fees
No short-let fees. Council tax: since 1 Apr 2025 a 100% premium applies to furnished second homes that are nobody's sole or main residence, so they pay double council tax (200%); the council says this includes holiday homes and homes used for short-term holiday rental.
It was agreed at the council's Strategy and Resources committee on 25 Mar 2024. Exceptions (national rules from 1 Apr 2025) include: annexes treated as part of the main home (Class F); homes actively marketed for sale or let (Classes G and H, 12 months); probate (Class I, 12 months); job-related homes (Class J); occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings (Class K); and seasonal homes where year-round living is banned, or a planning condition limits use to holiday accommodation or stops anyone staying more than 28 days in a row (Class L).
Homes empty and unfurnished for more than 12 months also pay a premium: 100% at first, rising to 200% after 5 years and 300% after 10 years, and a change of owner does not remove it. If your holiday let meets the business rates test (available at least 140 nights and actually let at least 70 nights in the last 12 months, and you plan to offer 140 nights in the next 12), it is valued for business rates instead of council tax, so the premium does not apply.
A single let with a rateable value under 拢15,000 may get small business rate relief.
Source: source source source source
Compare second homes council tax premiums across UK councils
What changed in Cambridge
- Added council pages for Cambridge and Bristol. Both have charged a 100% second homes council tax premium, so 200% council tax, since 1 Apr 2025. Cambridge assesses whole-home short lets case by case as a possible change of use, and its draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan would allow homes to be turned into visitor accommodation only in exceptional circumstances. Bristol's draft new Local Plan, which the council expects to adopt in late 2026, includes a policy against losing existing homes. Holiday lets valued for business rates instead do not pay the premium, and neither council has a short-let licence. Official source
- All England lets Confirmed two Budget 2026 details for holiday lets. The higher Small Business Rate Relief thresholds from 1 April 2027 (100% relief up to 拢18,000 rateable value, tapering to 拢21,000) cover self-catering holiday lets that pay business rates, because they use the retail, hospitality and leisure definition, which includes self-catering accommodation and holiday homes. And mortgage interest relief for let property is given at the property basic rate under Finance Act 2026, so it rises to 24% from 6 April 2027 once Finance Bill 2026-27 passes. Official source
- Rules on this page last checked in full against the official sources listed above.
Newest first. Every UK change is in the changes log. Nothing here is legal advice: check the official source before acting.
England guides
- Do I need planning permission for a holiday let in England?
- Holiday let fire safety in England: what you need and a checklist
- Second homes council tax premium: who pays, business rates and exceptions
- Business rates or council tax? Occupancy threshold tracker
- How holiday lets are taxed since the FHL regime ended
Not sure what applies to your let? Use the free licence checker: pick your nation, council and type of let for a plain-English answer with the official source.
Buying here? See the buyer checks for Cambridge: licence or registration, planning, visitor levy, business rates or council tax, plus the lender, insurance and title checks to make before you buy.
Key dates
- Oct 2018: Cambridge Local Plan 2018 adopted
- 25 Mar 2024: Strategy and Resources committee agreed the second homes premium
- 1 Apr 2025: 100% second homes premium started
- 3 Aug to 25 Sep 2026: Greater Cambridge Local Plan final consultation
- 26 Nov 2026: Full Council considers submitting the Greater Cambridge Local Plan
- Dec 2026: Greater Cambridge Local Plan due to be submitted for examination
- Mar 2027: England short-term let register expected (GOV.UK)
Cambridge short-let rules: quick answers
Do I need a licence or registration for a short-term let in Cambridge?
No licensing or local registration scheme. A national short-term let register for England is coming under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023; GOV.UK (updated 2 Oct 2026) says it is expected to begin in March 2027. Until then, the main local rules are council tax or business rates, planning, and fire safety.
Do I need planning permission for a short-term let in Cambridge?
No short-let control area, and no Article 4 direction aimed at holiday lets (checked 4 Nov 2026). The national planning data register lists 19 Article 4 directions for Cambridge: 18 cover pubs or former pubs (2014) and one the Accordia estate (2014); none is about holiday lets. Whether letting a whole home as a short-term let is a material change of use is decided case by case. A council briefing note from March 2017 says short-term letting is not a material change of use while the home still meets the occupants' day-to-day residential needs, and that each complaint is judged as a matter of fact and degree: how many days a year it is let, how often guests change, its size, how many rooms are let, whether the host lives there and whether guests are one household. Enforcement officers had already served planning contravention notices, and in January 2018 planning officers recommended 13 enforcement notices against flats at Florian House and Roman House (Severn Place) used as commercial short-term visitor accommodation without permission. Under the Cambridge Local Plan 2018 (adopted October 2018), Policy 3 supports changing housing to other uses only in exceptional circumstances. The new Greater Cambridge Local Plan, prepared with South Cambridgeshire, goes further: draft Policy J/VA says that where planning permission is needed, converting homes to visitor accommodation in Cambridge will be allowed only in exceptional circumstances, and only if it does not harm residents' amenity and sense of security or the area's character; its supporting text names clusters of short lets near the railway station and at Trumpington Meadows. Its final consultation ran from 3 Aug to 25 Sep 2026; a joint Cabinet on 17 Nov and Cambridge's Full Council on 26 Nov 2026 will consider submitting it in December 2026, with examination expected from spring 2027. It is not yet in force.
Is there a visitor levy (tourist tax) in Cambridge?
No visitor levy. On 10 Sep 2026 the government announced that mayors and Foundation Strategic Authority leaders in England will get the power to bring in an Overnight Visitor Levy, as a percentage of the accommodation price. A bill is still to come, so nothing applies yet.
What fees apply to short-term lets in Cambridge?
No short-let fees. Council tax: since 1 Apr 2025 a 100% premium applies to furnished second homes that are nobody's sole or main residence, so they pay double council tax (200%); the council says this includes holiday homes and homes used for short-term holiday rental. It was agreed at the council's Strategy and Resources committee on 25 Mar 2024. Exceptions (national rules from 1 Apr 2025) include: annexes treated as part of the main home (Class F); homes actively marketed for sale or let (Classes G and H, 12 months); probate (Class I, 12 months); job-related homes (Class J); occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings (Class K); and seasonal homes where year-round living is banned, or a planning condition limits use to holiday accommodation or stops anyone staying more than 28 days in a row (Class L). Homes empty and unfurnished for more than 12 months also pay a premium: 100% at first, rising to 200% after 5 years and 300% after 10 years, and a change of owner does not remove it. If your holiday let meets the business rates test (available at least 140 nights and actually let at least 70 nights in the last 12 months, and you plan to offer 140 nights in the next 12), it is valued for business rates instead of council tax, so the premium does not apply. A single let with a rateable value under 拢15,000 may get small business rate relief.
Answers summarise the sections above. Follow each section's official source before acting.
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