Let Nights

What counts as a night let, and a night available

Getting the count right matters more than the threshold. These are the rules the Valuation Office uses for Welsh holiday lets.

Checked against legislation.gov.uk, GOV.WALES and Valuation Office guidance on 17 September 2026.

Nights, not days

A day only counts if the property was let at midnight. Friday afternoon to Sunday morning is 2 nights, Friday and Saturday. Sunday doesn't count because the guests had gone by midnight. It also means a changeover day is never counted twice.

Short stays only: 28 nights or less

A stay longer than 28 nights doesn't count at all, not even its first 28 nights. That applies to nights let and nights available. A long winter let is fine to take, it just adds nothing towards 182 or 252.

The Valuation Office also treats short stays as being to different guests each time. If the same person books stay after stay back to back, it can look like one long let. The calculator flags this if you add guest names.

If someone lives there as their main home, even for a short time, the property is domestic for that period and the tenant pays council tax.

Commercial lets only

Lets have to be on a commercial basis, with a view to making a profit. That usually means market rates and properly advertised. Stays by family or friends for free or a nominal amount don't count, and neither does your own use. Advertising at rents far above the market can suggest the property isn't really available.

Cancellations

A cancelled booking doesn't count as let. The night can still count as available, as long as you'd have taken another booking for it.

Charity nights

From 1 April 2026, up to 14 nights a year can count where the property is let through a registered charity for free use by its beneficiaries. It has to go through a registered charity. Free stays you arrange yourself don't count, and neither do charity stays from before 1 April 2026. The calculator counts any charity nights over the 14 as neither let nor available.

What counts as available

Available means nights you were genuinely taking bookings for. Advertising a date isn't enough on its own. A tribunal case, Godfrey v Simm, decided it's the period the owner intended to accept bookings that matters.

These nights don't count as available:

The calculator counts every night you haven't marked as closed or booked as available. If you weren't taking bookings on some nights, add them as closed dates. Open the calculator.

Sources