On Tuesday 13 January the Senedd will debate a proposed new law that will, among other things, introduce a licensing scheme for certain types of visitor accommodation in Wales. This follows the Welsh Government’s 2021 Programme for Government commitment to “take forward actions to… licence holiday lets” and the subsequent Co-operation Agreement commitment to develop “a statutory licensing scheme for holiday lets”.
Overall, the Development of Tourism and Regulation of Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Bill:
- restates and modernises the Welsh Ministers’ functions of promoting tourism in Wales, while requiring them to have regard to the potential social impact of tourism and its potential impact on the environment and the Welsh language;
- regulates the provision of visitor accommodation in Wales by introducing a licensing regime that initially focuses on self-contained self-catering accommodation, and seeks to align the standard of that accommodation more closely with corresponding standards already applicable to the private rented sector;
- makes a standard in relation to the fitness of visitor accommodation a contractual requirement; and
- establishes a directory of visitor accommodation to provide information to the public.
- creates a code of Welsh law on tourism, incorporating the provisions of the Bill itself and those of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 (the VARL Act). Subordinate legislation made under the Bill or that Act will also form part of the code.
Our Bill Summary briefing explains in more detail what the Bill does and the background to it. This article sets out some of the key themes from the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs (ETRA) Committee’s scrutiny of the Bill at Stage 1 of the Senedd’s legislative process.
“Unusually short” timetable for scrutiny
The Welsh Government introduced the Bill on 3 November and, with the end of this Senedd term fast approaching, the Business Committee agreed that the ETRA Committee should report on its Stage 1 scrutiny by 19 December 2025. While there was broad support among witnesses for the general principles of the Bill, many expressed concern about the detail of its implementation, with some suggesting that it had been “rushed” through.
Several witnesses cited the condensed timeframe as posing challenges to the quality of evidence that could be provided, and expressed concern about the level of scrutiny that could be afforded in the time available.
The Committee agreed and concluded that, at seven sitting weeks, the timetable for Stage 1 was “unusually short”, “insufficient”, and “has restricted our ability to carry out the thorough and proper scrutiny usually afforded to non-emergency proposals for primary legislation”.
As a result, the Committee recommended that the timetable should not be taken, by either a future Senedd or government, as a precedent for the making and scrutiny of non-emergency legislation.
“A relatively busy period” of policy and legislative changes
Stakeholders expressed concerns about the cumulative impact of legislative and policy changes affecting the self-catering short-term let sector in the past few years – such as the 182 days business rates threshold, second homes council tax premiums, and increased planning controls. The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged that “this has been a relatively busy period for the sector in terms of policy changes and legislative changes” but noted the changes “have been a response to the rapidly changing nature of the industry”.
Stakeholders, however, were more forthright in their description of the impact of these changes. Visit Pembrokeshire, for example, said that operators were feeling “pretty battered and worn down, very anxious.” North Wales Tourism noted that among its members:
“significant concerns persist regarding the cumulative regulatory burden on an industry already facing unprecedented challenges. In the last 36 months, tourism businesses have navigated multiple new stipulations amid a cost-of-living crisis, with hospitality in areas like Caernarfon reporting at least 30% downturns compared to previous years.”
The Committee concluded that, given the sector is “arguably facing a legislation and policy fatigue”, it is essential that the Welsh Government “works to regain stakeholder confidence” as discussions continue on the details of the Bill.
“Further detail” required
Lack of detail was a running theme that the Committee encountered during the scrutiny process. The Welsh Government acknowledged in the Explanatory Memorandum that there is currently a “paucity of reliable data” regarding the size of the sector captured by the Bill, although this will improve once the register of visitor accommodation providers (set up under the VARL Act) is available in 2027.
The Committee considered the level of detail in the Bill and its Explanatory Memorandum on how the licensing scheme will function in practice. It also noted the Welsh Government’s decision to defer much of this detail, opting instead to address it later through the 20 regulation-making powers included in the Bill.
The Committee heard evidence that there is significant detail yet to be developed and agreed in a number of important areas, including:
- The organisation(s) that will operate the licensing scheme
- The organisation(s) that will play a role in enforcing the scheme
- The training requirements that accommodation providers will have to meet
- The process for handling complaints made by visitors
As such, 10 of the Committee’s 23 recommendations ask the Welsh Government to provide the Committee with further information in advance of the Stage 1 debate.
The Senedd will debate the general principles of the Bill in Plenary on Tuesday 13 January 2026. You can follow proceedings on Senedd.tv or view the transcript shortly afterwards.
Article by Ben Stokes, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
