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Posted: Sun 11th Jan 2026
Updated: Sun 11th Jan
Plans to introduce a new licensing scheme for holiday lets in Wales will be debated in the Senedd next week.
On Tuesday 13 January, Members will consider the Development of Tourism and Regulation of Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Bill — legislation that would overhaul how visitor accommodation is regulated across the country.
The Bill follows Welsh Government promises made in 2021 to license holiday lets, alongside commitments in its Co-operation Agreement to introduce a statutory scheme.
At its core, the Bill would:
Introduce a licensing system for visitor accommodation, starting with self-contained self-catering properties.
Bring standards closer to those already applied in the private rented sector.
Make property fitness a contractual requirement.
Create a public directory of visitor accommodation.
Modernise the Welsh Government’s tourism role, while requiring consideration of social, environmental and Welsh-language impacts.
Establish a single Welsh legal code for tourism law.
But while the aims are broadly supported, Senedd scrutiny has raised serious questions about timing, detail and the cumulative burden on the sector.
The Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs (ETRA) Committee was given just seven sitting weeks to examine the Bill before reporting back — a timetable it described as “unusually short” and “insufficient”.
The Bill was introduced on 3 November, with the Committee required to report by 19 December.
Witnesses told Members the process felt rushed, limiting both the quality of evidence and the depth of scrutiny.
The Committee agreed, warning that the timetable had restricted its ability to carry out “thorough and proper scrutiny” and should not be used as a precedent for future non-emergency legislation.
Tourism organisations told the Committee that the holiday-let and self-catering sector is already struggling with the impact of multiple recent policy changes, including:
The 182-day business rates threshold.
Council tax premiums on second homes.
Tighter planning controls.
The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged the industry has experienced a “relatively busy period” of policy change, but said this reflected the rapid evolution of the sector.
Industry groups were less diplomatic.
Visit Pembrokeshire said operators were feeling “pretty battered and worn down”.
North Wales Tourism warned of “significant concerns” about the cumulative regulatory burden, noting hospitality businesses in places such as Caernarfon had seen downturns of at least 30% compared with previous years.
The Committee concluded that the sector is now suffering from “legislation and policy fatigue” and said the Welsh Government must work to rebuild trust.
A lack of detail was one of the most consistent concerns raised during scrutiny.
The Welsh Government admits there is currently limited reliable data on how large the sector actually is — something that will only improve once a national register becomes available in 2027.
Instead of setting out how the licensing scheme will work in practice, the Bill leaves much of the detail to future regulations, with 20 separate regulation-making powers included.
Key questions remain unanswered, including:
Who will run the licensing scheme.
Who will enforce it.
What training providers must complete.
How complaints from visitors will be handled.
Because of this, 10 of the Committee’s 23 recommendations call on the Welsh Government to provide more information before the Senedd even debates the Bill.
The Senedd will debate the general principles of the Bill in Plenary on Tuesday 13 January.
If Members approve it, the detail will still need to be built almost from scratch — through amendments, regulations and further consultation.
For now, the direction of travel is clear.
But the destination — and the road to get there — remains far from settled.
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