PEMBROKESHIRE County Council has called on the Welsh Government to review the 182-day rule for self-catering businesses.

At the October 5 Cabinet meeting, members were asked to approve a response to the Welsh Government’s consultation on the current 182-day rule for self-catering properties to avoid paying the second homes council tax.

Self-catering businesses that fail to meet the 182-day threshold - i.e. being let for at least 182 days in the previous year and being available for occupancy for 256 days - end up paying the second homes council tax premium instead of non-domestic business rates.

In Pembrokeshire, the council tax premium is 125 per cent on top of the standard rate, with similar premiums added to the police precept and town or community council bill.

In 2023, the Welsh Government increased the threshold from 70 days for properties to qualify for business rates instead of paying the second-home premium.

Pembrokeshire County Council has previously urged the Welsh Government to reduce the 182-day threshold.

A report by finance cabinet member, Cllr Jon Harvey, said the 182-day issue had been raised in successive council tax premium consultations and “is of concern to many self-catering accommodation and holiday let owners.”

In its response, the council said the jump from 70 days to 182 days “was too steep an increase,” creating instability in the part of local tourism industry that “tends to be higher value and more likely to work in off-peak season.”

The council said the Welsh Local Government Association’s Rural Manifesto call for a 145-day threshold “may be a little too low”, but supports a reduction to 154 days, aiming to maintain the balance between “supporting legitimate holiday-let businesses and preventing the loss of housing stock through excessive numbers of lightly-let self-catering properties.”

Cabinet members unanimously backed the response at the October meeting.