Short-term let rules in Hastings (updated 7 Nov 2026)

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.

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No short-let control area, and no Article 4 direction aimed at holiday lets in force. Hastings Borough Council's Article 4 page (checked 7 Nov 2026) lists a town-wide direction, in force since 2 Jul 2012, that requires planning permission to turn a house into a small house in multiple occupation (3 to 6 unrelated people); conservation-area directions from 1952 and 1993 covering listed properties; and two landslide-risk directions (Cliff Stability Areas 1 and 2, around West Hill Road), made on 30 Jan 2025 and confirmed on 1 Jul 2025.

None are about holiday lets. The national planning.data.gov.uk article-4-direction API returned HTTP 503 for Hastings Borough Council (organisation_entity 160) on 7 Nov 2026, so the national register count could not be confirmed that day.

The adopted Local Plan is the Hastings Planning Strategy (adopted Feb 2014) and the Development Management Plan (adopted Sep 2015). Planning Strategy Policy E4 (Tourism and Visitors) directs new visitor accommodation to the seafront, the main arterial routes and places close to other demand, and presumes against losing serviced visitor accommodation on the Seafront (including Warrior Square), in the Old Town and in the Town Centre unless it is no longer viable or cannot be improved to a good standard.

The Visitor Accommodation SPD (adopted 16 Dec 2015) sets out the evidence needed to change visitor accommodation to another use. Proposed change (not in force): the Hastings Local Plan Pre-Submission Version 2023-2041 (Regulation 19) is open for formal representations from 1 Oct 2026 to 11:59pm on 12 Nov 2026.

Its draft Policy E5 (The Visitor Economy) says using homes, including annexes, as short-term visitor accommodation for longer than the Valuation Office Agency's de minimis threshold will not be supported; new holiday apartments and short-term holiday lets would need to be in the Town Centre, the resort area or another established tourism location, must not mean losing a home and must not be within the curtilage of a home; and purpose-built short-term lets would be permitted as a sui generis use.

The supporting text says the council considers whole homes let as short-term holiday lets currently fall into the sui generis use class, that lets meeting the business rates test have gone beyond the de minimis threshold, that it will refuse change-of-use applications in those cases, and that it may seek Article 4 directions where homes would be lost.

The plan itself says it carries limited weight in decisions at this stage; the council expects to submit it for examination in Dec 2026 and to adopt it in Jun 2028. Until then the 2014 and 2015 plans apply.

Whether letting a whole home as a short-term let is a material change of use is decided case by case.

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Compare planning rules for short lets across UK councils

No visitor levy. On 4 Nov 2026 the government introduced the Visitor Levy Bill, which would let mayors and Foundation Strategic Authority leaders charge an Overnight Visitor Levy as a percentage of the accommodation price. The Bill still has to pass Parliament, so nothing applies yet.

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No short-let fees. Council tax: from 1 Apr 2025 Hastings charges a 100% premium on second homes (furnished homes that are not anyone's main residence; the council says this includes holiday homes and holiday lets), so the bill is 200%.

Full Council approved it on 21 Feb 2024, with the 2024/25 budget, at least a year ahead as the law requires, and the same resolution cut the empty homes premium wait from 2 years to 1 year from 1 Apr 2024. The council's second homes and holiday lets page confirms the premium has applied from 1 Apr 2025, as does a Nov 2024 Freedom of Information response.

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).

The council's page lists the exception classes (E to M); to apply, email counciltax@hastings.gov.uk saying which class applies, with evidence (you may get an inspection visit). Empty and unfurnished homes pay a premium after 1 year: 100% (1 to 5 years), 200% (5 years or more) and 300% (10 years or more).

Holiday lets: the council says a let must first be charged council tax, and you keep paying council tax until the Valuation Office Agency decides whether to move it to business rates. 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 £15,000 may get small business rate relief.

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Compare second homes council tax premiums across UK councils