Short-term let rules in Great Yarmouth (updated 3 Nov 2026)
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- Mar 2027: England short-term let register expected (GOV.UK)
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Last checked 3 Nov 2026: no change logged for this council in our changes log. Get free alerts when it changes.
100% council tax premium on second homes (200% bill) since 1 Apr 2025, with national exceptions. Holiday lets that qualify for business rates (140 nights available, 70 let) pay business rates instead. No licensing or local registration scheme. No Article 4 direction on holiday lets; the Local Plan protects designated Holiday Accommodation Areas from losing holiday uses.
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 or Article 4 direction aimed at holiday lets that we found (checked 3 Nov 2026); the national planning data register lists no Article 4 directions for Great Yarmouth Borough Council, so check the council's own records for a specific property.
Whether letting a whole home as a holiday let is a material change of use is decided case by case. The Broads Authority, not the borough council, handles planning in the Broads part of the borough.
The Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (plan period 2013 to 2030, adopted by Full Council in December 2021) works the other way round from most holiday-let hotspots: Policy L1 designates Holiday Accommodation Areas, where the council resists changing holiday accommodation to uses that are not tourist related.
New holiday accommodation is usually given conditions that it is for holidays only, is never anyone's sole or main home, and keeps a register of guests and their home addresses for the council to inspect; some holiday parks also have a seasonal closed period.
Check the planning conditions on any holiday unit before you buy.
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: on 14 Dec 2023 the council resolved to charge an extra 100% premium on furnished homes with no resident from 1 Apr 2025, so a second home pays double council tax (200%).
The council says there are more than 1,000 second homes in the borough, and that under an agreement with Norfolk County Council and the other districts, 25% of the money raised by the premium goes back to the districts whose communities are most affected by second homes.
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).
If you think the premium should not apply, use the council's online occupation of a second home form, which lists the exceptions. The 12-month exception for a home marketed for sale runs from the first date it went on the market.
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.
What changed in Great Yarmouth
- Added council pages for two more English holiday-let areas: Great Yarmouth and Wealden. Both charge a 100% second homes council tax premium, so 200% council tax, from 1 Apr 2025; holiday lets valued for business rates instead do not pay it. Neither has a short-let licence or an Article 4 direction on holiday lets. Great Yarmouth's Local Plan protects designated Holiday Accommodation Areas from losing holiday uses, and Wealden's new Local Plan to 2042 is due to be submitted for examination by the end of 2026. 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 Great Yarmouth: 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
- Dec 2021: Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 adopted
- 14 Dec 2023: council resolved to charge the second homes premium
- 1 Apr 2025: 100% second homes premium started
- Mar 2027: England short-term let register expected (GOV.UK)
Great Yarmouth short-let rules: quick answers
Do I need a licence or registration for a short-term let in Great Yarmouth?
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 Great Yarmouth?
No short-let control area or Article 4 direction aimed at holiday lets that we found (checked 3 Nov 2026); the national planning data register lists no Article 4 directions for Great Yarmouth Borough Council, so check the council's own records for a specific property. Whether letting a whole home as a holiday let is a material change of use is decided case by case. The Broads Authority, not the borough council, handles planning in the Broads part of the borough. The Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (plan period 2013 to 2030, adopted by Full Council in December 2021) works the other way round from most holiday-let hotspots: Policy L1 designates Holiday Accommodation Areas, where the council resists changing holiday accommodation to uses that are not tourist related. New holiday accommodation is usually given conditions that it is for holidays only, is never anyone's sole or main home, and keeps a register of guests and their home addresses for the council to inspect; some holiday parks also have a seasonal closed period. Check the planning conditions on any holiday unit before you buy.
Is there a visitor levy (tourist tax) in Great Yarmouth?
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 Great Yarmouth?
No short-let fees. Council tax: on 14 Dec 2023 the council resolved to charge an extra 100% premium on furnished homes with no resident from 1 Apr 2025, so a second home pays double council tax (200%). The council says there are more than 1,000 second homes in the borough, and that under an agreement with Norfolk County Council and the other districts, 25% of the money raised by the premium goes back to the districts whose communities are most affected by second homes. 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). If you think the premium should not apply, use the council's online occupation of a second home form, which lists the exceptions. The 12-month exception for a home marketed for sale runs from the first date it went on the market. 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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