Can You Get Planning Permission for Holiday Let Accommodation?
Can you get planning permission for a holiday let? Learn about holiday cottages, log cabins, shepherd’s huts, planning rules and the 28-day rule.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Andrew Ransome
9/16/20267 min read
Holiday lets can take many forms — from converting an existing cottage to creating a new holiday lodge, log cabin or shepherd’s hut. But whether planning permission is required, and whether it can be obtained, depends on the starting point, the location and how the accommodation will actually be used.
The key distinction is between occasional use of an existing dwelling, a new building or conversion intended as tourist accommodation, and accommodation involving caravans or other movable structures.
Getting the planning position right before committing to a site, purchase or design can avoid significant problems later.
Converting an Existing Property to a Holiday Let
If you already own a house or cottage and want to let it as short-term holiday accommodation while it remains a single private dwelling, planning permission will not usually be required.
The property remains within Use Class C3 (dwellinghouses), and occasional or seasonal holiday letting is not normally treated as a separate planning use.
However, this is not an unlimited principle.
If the property is used intensively as a short-term letting business that its character changes materially, a council could consider that a material change of use has occurred.
The position can also be affected by an Article 4 Direction, planning conditions or other site-specific restrictions.
This is particularly important in areas where local planning authorities have introduced controls relating to short-term holiday letting. For example, there are specific rules for short-term letting in London. A residential property can generally be used as temporary sleeping accommodation for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission, provided the relevant conditions are met
It is therefore worth checking the position for the particular property rather than assuming that all holiday letting is automatically permitted.
Creating a New Holiday Let
The planning position is different where you want to create a new holiday unit.
This could include:
A new holiday cottage;
A log cabin or lodge;
A converted barn;
A shepherd's hut;
A pod or other form of tourist accommodation.
Where the accommodation is intended to operate as a separate unit for holidaymakers rather than as part of a dwelling, planning permission will generally be required.
The planning application will need to demonstrate that the proposal is appropriate for its location and that its impacts can be satisfactorily addressed.
What will the council consider?
The precise issues will depend on the site, but commonly include:
Occupancy
A holiday-let permission will typically include conditions restricting occupation to holiday use and preventing the accommodation from becoming a permanent residence. Conditions may also require a register of occupiers to be maintained.
Location and sustainability
The accessibility of the site, availability of services, access arrangements and parking can all be relevant, particularly where the proposal is in a rural location.
Landscape and visual impact
New tourist accommodation needs to respond appropriately to its surroundings. This can be particularly important where a lodge, cabin or other unit would be visible in the countryside.
Green Belt and other designations
Additional policy considerations can apply where the site is within the Green Belt, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or another designated area.
For Green Belt sites, the development may need to be justified against the relevant Green Belt policies, including whether it constitutes inappropriate development or falls within an applicable exception.
Local tourism policies
Local plans can contain policies supporting tourism, rural diversification and visitor accommodation. These can provide important policy support where the proposal is appropriately located and designed.
Can You Get Planning Permission for a Log Cabin?
A log cabin can have very different planning implications depending on how it is used.
If it is simply a garden building used for purposes incidental to the main house — such as a home office, gym or garden room — it may benefit from permitted development rights for outbuildings under Class E of Part 1 of the GPDO, subject to the relevant limitations.
These include restrictions relating to matters such as height, position and the proportion of the curtilage that can be covered by buildings and extensions.
Importantly, permitted development rights for an outbuilding do not provide a general right to create a separate self-contained dwelling or holiday accommodation.
If the cabin contains its own sleeping, cooking and washing facilities and is independently occupied or let to holidaymakers, the planning position needs to be considered as a separate accommodation use. A full planning application may therefore be required.
What About a Shepherd's Hut?
Shepherd's huts are sometimes claimed to be effectively "planning permission free" because they are mobile.
That is not necessarily the case.
A shepherd's hut may meet the statutory definition of a caravan under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. The fact that it is described as a shepherd's hut, lodge or pod does not determine its planning status.
The relevant question is whether the structure satisfies the statutory tests, including the requirements relating to mobility and dimensions.
If it qualifies as a caravan, a different set of permitted development rights can apply under Part 5 of the GPDO.
However, this does not mean that a landowner can simply place a shepherd's hut on land and operate it indefinitely as holiday accommodation as planning permission could still be required for the change of use of the land it sits on.
The 28-Day Rule — and Why It Causes Confusion
The phrase "28-day rule" is often used in connection with temporary uses of land and caravans, but there are two different 28-day provisions that should not be confused.
Temporary use of land
Class B of Part 4 of the GPDO allows land to be used temporarily for certain purposes for up to 28 days in a calendar year without planning permission, subject to the detailed provisions and exclusions.
The rules changed in July 2024, adding the the use of land is for camping, except when in connection with a festival.
They also state that development is not permitted if the use of the land is for the siting of any caravan except a caravan which is a motor vehicle designed or adapted for human habitation and that which is sited on the land in connection with a festival.
Caravan site licensing
A separate 28-day provision arises under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.
This relates to caravan site licensing, rather than being a general exemption from planning permission.
Irrespective of planning you usually need a licence from your local council to have a caravan site on your land.
The legislation contains circumstances in which a caravan site licence is not required, including:
forestry workers, builders, travelling showmen or seasonal workers (like fruit pickers) stay in caravans on the site
the site is 5 or more acres and there are 3 or less caravans there for 28 days or less a year
you’re a member of an organisation like a caravan club and have a caravan exemption certificate
your site is approved by an organisation with a caravan exemption certificate
members of an exempted organisation stay in their caravans on the site
your site is used for a social get-together of caravan club
But planning control and site licensing are separate matters.
A use can potentially fall within a caravan-site licensing exemption while still requiring planning permission because of a material change of use of the land.
Don't Assume That a Mobile Structure Avoids Planning Permission
One of the most common misunderstandings is that a structure does not need planning permission simply because it can be moved.
Mobility can be relevant to whether something falls within the statutory definition of a caravan and therefore which permitted development rights may apply.
It does not, however, automatically provide permission to establish an ongoing commercial holiday-letting business.
If a shepherd's hut, pod or caravan is repeatedly used for holiday accommodation throughout the year, particularly where it remains permanently stationed on the land, the council may consider that the use of the land has materially changed.
That can require planning permission in its own right.
What Is the Best Planning Route?
There is no single planning route for holiday accommodation.
The appropriate approach depends on the proposal. For example:
An existing dwelling may continue to be used as a holiday let without a material change of use in some circumstances.
A new holiday cottage or lodge will generally require planning permission.
A garden cabin used incidentally to a dwelling may benefit from permitted development rights.
A self-contained cabin used independently as holiday accommodation is a different proposition.
A shepherd's hut may qualify as a caravan, bringing a different set of planning provisions into consideration.
Temporary use or caravan licensing exemptions do not automatically remove the need for planning permission.
The most important issue is therefore to establish exactly what is being proposed, how the accommodation will operate and how the land will be used before deciding which planning route to pursue.
A successful application will normally need to address matters such as the principle of tourism development, location, landscape impact, design, access, parking, residential amenity and any Green Belt or other environmental constraints.
The proposed occupancy arrangements are also important, particularly where the intention is to ensure that the accommodation remains a holiday let rather than becoming a permanent home.
Planning Advice for Holiday Let Accommodation
If you are considering creating holiday accommodation, the planning position can be more complicated than it first appears.
The fact that a building is called a "log cabin", "pod" or "shepherd's hut" does not determine whether planning permission is required. Equally, the fact that a structure is movable or that a particular 28-day provision applies does not necessarily mean that you can operate a commercial holiday-let business without planning control.
If you are considering a holiday-let project and would like advice on the planning position, I can assess the proposed use, site constraints and available planning routes before you commit to the project.
Andrew Ransome MRTPI - Email: andrew@andrewransome.co.uk
About me
Andrew Ransome is a Planning Director and a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), with more than two decades of experience in town planning.
He specialises in delivering strategic planning solutions for complex developments across both rural and urban environments, helping clients navigate planning challenges and unlock development opportunities. Connect with Andrew on Linkedin.
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