Winter Lets UK 2026/27: Cottages and Lodges Off-Season

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Overview

Every autumn the same quiet trade happens across the UK's holiday-let stock. A cottage in the Staffordshire Moorlands, a lodge on the North Wales coast or a static caravan on a twelve-month park is taken for two, three or six months by someone who is not on holiday: a couple between house sales, a family waiting for flood repairs, a contractor on a long job. Owners call it a winter let. For decades it filled the dead months without much paperwork.

This winter is different in England. From 1 May 2026 the Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished assured shorthold tenancies and fixed terms, and with them went Ground 3, the possession ground that let an owner recover a holiday property from an out-of-season tenant in time for Easter. The question for anyone letting or taking a winter let in 2026/27 is no longer "what shall we charge" but "is this a holiday stay or a tenancy", because the answer now decides whether the owner gets the property back when they expect to.

What a winter let is, and who takes one

A winter let is a stay of roughly one to six months in a furnished holiday property during the off-season, typically from the start of November to the Friday before Easter. Directory sites that list them describe the typical taker as "anyone between homes or requiring temporary accommodation", usually on "a short term contract for up to six months or possibly less".

What owners in England need to decide before November

An owner with an empty calendar from November has three honest options.

The first is to keep winter stays within the holiday and working-away groups, and to say so: ask the purpose of the stay and where the guest's main home is before accepting, and decline stays that are in substance someone's home. It is the least lucrative route, but it keeps the property on its holiday footing and the summer calendar intact.

The second is to let to someone between homes on a tenancy, knowingly, with the new rules priced in. That is a legitimate choice, but it is a different business. A note from solicitors Stephens Scown on winter lets, written in 2021 when they were still assured shorthold tenancies, set out what applied even then: the property must meet the fitness for human habitation and energy efficiency standards for rented homes, which "not all holiday accommodation will meet"; possession "can only be obtained by way of a court order", with at least six weeks between order and departure; and longer-term use "may be a breach of planning regulations and/or your insurance policy". Every point is heavier now that there is no fixed end date to fall back on. An owner taking this route needs a written tenancy, a protected deposit, right-to-rent checks, a gas safety certificate and EPC, and a conversation with their insurer and, where there is a holiday-use planning condition, their council.

The third is to let through a company. Where a contractor's employer, an insurer's accommodation provider or a relocation agency takes the property in its own name, the tenant is not an individual, the agreement is a commercial contract and both sides can agree a fixed end date. Owners open to this should say so in their listing.

None of this is legal advice; the position for a particular property depends on its planning history, mortgage and insurance terms and the facts of the stay. What has changed is that the question can no longer be left until a tenant decides not to leave.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still do a winter let on my holiday cottage in England in 2026/27?+

Yes, but not on the old footing. Ground 3 of the Housing Act 1988, which let an owner recover a holiday property from an out-of-season tenant after a fixed term of up to eight months, was repealed from 1 May 2026, and fixed-term tenancies ended the same day. A genuine holiday, or a working-away stay by someone whose main home is elsewhere, sits outside the assured tenancy regime. A stay by someone with no other home is likely to be a periodic assured tenancy with no end date.

Does a stay of more than 28 nights automatically become a tenancy?+

No. Length alone does not decide it. An assured tenancy arises where an individual occupies the property as their only or principal home, and a stay whose purpose is a holiday is excluded whatever its length. The 28-night figure matters for business rates, not tenancy status.

Will a long winter let affect my business rates?+

It can. In England a self-catering property stays on business rates only if it was available for short lets of 28 nights or less for at least 140 nights and actually let for at least 70 nights in the previous twelve months. Nights on a long let do not count towards those figures. Wales uses 252 and 182 nights.

Can a company take a winter let for its staff?+

Yes, and for owners it is the simplest arrangement. An assured tenancy can only exist where the tenant is an individual, so a let to a company is a commercial contract with whatever end date the parties agree. Check planning conditions and insurance for the intended use.

I am between homes and need somewhere for three months. Will owners turn me away?+

Some will, because the stay is likely to be a tenancy they cannot end on a fixed date. Others will take it with the right agreement. Say plainly in your request that this would be your main home for the period, offer a monthly figure that includes heating, and expect to be asked for references and a protected deposit.

Winter Lets in 2026/27: Renting a Holiday Cottage or Lodge from November to March After the Renters' Rights Act

Overview

What a winter let is, and who takes one

Tell hosts what you are looking for

Why winter 2026/27 is different: Ground 3 has gone

Holiday stay or tenancy: the question that decides everything

What owners in England need to decide before November

Wales, Scotland, business rates and insurance

What a winter let should cost

How to ask for a winter stay

How to answer a winter request

Sources

Frequently asked questions

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