Short-term let rules in Maldon (updated 8 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.

Source: source

No short-let control area, and no Article 4 direction aimed at holiday lets. Maldon District Council's Article 4 pages (checked 8 Nov 2026) list directions restricting the use of specific plots of land, including at Althorne, Great Braxted, Great Totham, the Heybridge Basin leisure plots, St Lawrence, Steeple, Southminster, Bradwell on Sea, Ulting, Wickham Bishops and Woodham Walter, plus conservation-area directions in Bradwell-on-Sea, Burnham-on-Crouch, Maldon, Southminster, Tillingham and Woodham Walter.

The council says it has no Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. None are about holiday lets.

The national planning.data.gov.uk article-4-direction API returned HTTP 503 for Maldon District Council (organisation_entity 206) on 8 Nov 2026, so the national register count could not be confirmed that day. Whether letting a whole home as a short-term let is a material change of use is decided case by case.

The adopted plan is the Maldon District Local Development Plan 2014-2029, approved by the Secretary of State on 21 Jul 2017. Policy E5 (Tourism) supports new tourist attractions, facilities and accommodation across the district where there is an identified need, good links to other destinations and local services, no significant harm to the character of the area or local people's quality of life, and any harm to the natural and historic environment is avoided or mitigated (with extra checks near the internationally protected coastal wildlife sites).

It also protects existing tourism businesses: a change of use away from tourism is only considered if there is no significant loss of tourism facilities, the business is not and cannot be made viable, and the site has been marketed for tourism uses without success.

From our search of the document, the plan has no separate policy on turning existing homes into holiday lets. The council published its notice of intention to prepare a new Maldon District Local Plan on 25 Sep 2026; its timetable has a scoping consultation from 25 Nov to 22 Dec 2026 and adoption in May 2029.

No draft policies exist yet.

Source: source source source source source source source

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.

Source: source

No short-let fees. Council tax: from 1 Apr 2025 Maldon charges a 100% premium on homes that are furnished but not used as anyone's main home (second homes), so the bill is doubled.

Full Council agreed on 22 Feb 2023, on the Strategy and Resources Committee's recommendation of 26 Jan 2023, that council tax on second homes would be increased by 100% through a premium at the maximum permitted amount. The law then needed a decision at least a year ahead, so the premium could not start until the 2025/26 year.

Full Council approved the council's Empty Homes and Second Homes Premium Policy on 15 Feb 2024, and the 2025/26 policy confirms the council resolved to charge the premium and gave the required notice. 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).

Maldon's page and policy list the same exception classes, including seasonal homes where year-round occupation is not allowed (Class L); you can apply for an exception online through the council's website. Empty and unfurnished homes pay a premium after 1 year (it was 2 years before 1 Apr 2024): 100% (1 to 5 years), 200% (5 to 10 years) and 300% (more than 10 years).

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.

Source: source source source source source

Compare second homes council tax premiums across UK councils