Short-term let rules in Windsor and Maidenhead (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. The Royal Borough's permitted development rights page (checked 7 Nov 2026) lists Article 4 directions for small areas — Fifield and New Lodge Estate (Bray), The Moorings and Pound Meadow (Bisham), exterior painting in Windsor Town Centre, Wraysbury Embankment, caravans and moveable structures in Wraysbury, Horton and Datchet parishes, caravans on Chobham Common (Sunningdale), front elevations in Bray Conservation Area, and Waltham St Lawrence — plus an Article 4 direction removing the Class E (commercial) to C3 (homes) permitted development right on protected employment sites, in force since 30 Jan 2025.

None are about holiday lets. The national planning.data.gov.uk article-4-direction API returned HTTP 503 for the Royal Borough (organisation_entity 377) on 7 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 Borough Local Plan 2013-2033 was adopted on 8 Feb 2022.

Policy VT1 (Visitor Development) makes Maidenhead and Windsor town centres the main focus for major visitor-related development; elsewhere in settlements it must suit how accessible the location is on foot, by bike and by public transport.

Rural visitor development is supported where it promotes the rural economy and protects the countryside, and visitor development in the Green Belt must show very special circumstances. The Local Plan has no separate holiday-let or short-term let policy for existing homes.

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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 the Royal Borough charges a 100% second home premium on homes that are unoccupied but furnished (nobody's sole or main residence), so the bill doubles.

The council's premiums page says the premium applies as soon as a home becomes unoccupied and furnished, however long it stays that way, and the 2025/26 council tax guide says the same. A February 2024 Council Tax report to Council recommended the second homes premium from 1 Apr 2025 and cutting the empty homes premium wait from 2 years to 1 year from 1 Apr 2024.

The meeting date (29 Feb 2024) and the final resolution wording: UNVERIFIED (the council's meeting pages were not reachable when we checked on 7 Nov 2026), but the premium is confirmed as charged on the council's own pages.

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 same exception classes and has online declaration forms; you may be asked for evidence or an inspection, and the premium must be paid until the council removes it. Empty and unfurnished homes pay a premium after 12 months: 100% (12 months), 200% (5 years) and 300% (10 years or more).

There have been no reductions for unoccupied homes since Apr 2017. 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