Hotel, AirBnB … or not quite sure?
Does your Venue offer Accommodation?
There has been an increased demand for honeymoon suites and onsite guest accommodation at wedding venues over recent years. This has led to many venue owners adding yurts, shepherd huts and cabins, or in some cases renting out a local cottage or their own home, to service demand, often on an AirBnB basis.
However, AirBnB and similar platforms are changing, as laws on renting accommodation tighten up. So, if you don’t have formal (C1) planning consent as a hotel, guest house or B&B, these changes may affect you.
The current situation:
Some wedding venues are formally registered as planning class C1 hotels, guest houses or B&Bs.
A lot of owners of independent and exclusive use wedding venues have retained their original ‘residential’ C3 planning class, on the assumption that renting to wedding guests is no different from offering their property on AirBnB.
There are two schemes currently under consideration, one looking at introducing a new C5 planning class and one calling for the registration of all guest accommodation, including accommodation in temporary structures such as yurts.
Scheme 1. Proposed changes to introduce a new C5 planning class
These changes are most likely to impact venue owners who have moved out in order to rent out the entire house for guests, typically the farmhouse or country house at the heart of the venue, or a residential property nearby. The changes are only relevant to properties currently classed as C3.
Land and buildings all fall into planning categories known as 'Use Classes'. Homes typically fall within the use class of ‘C3 Dwellinghouses’. There is no distinction between whether the house is used as a main home, for commercial use, or is rented out for personal or commercial use.
To allow for greater local control the government is proposing to introduce a new use class for short term lets in England. This new planning class: "C5 Short Term Let” would be defined as "Use of a dwellinghouse that is not a sole or main residence for temporary sleeping accommodation for the purpose of holiday, leisure, recreation, business or other travel."
New permitted development rights could allow properties currently classed as C3 to change to C5, and for C5 properties to change to C3, in most areas.
In areas where the local planning authority have identified an imbalance in housing, and a need for either more residential homes or more temporary accommodation, an Article 4 direction would remove this automatic right under permitted development and homeowners would need to apply for permission.
As part of the proposal, venue owners who only occasionally offer their main residence for temporary guest accommodation can retain their C3 planning use, but rent out accommodation for a maximum number of nights per year. The government is seeking feedback on the appropriate limit to set, but it is expected to be 30, 60 or 90 nights per year. For many wedding venues this will be sufficient, so venues in more sensitive areas where planning departments could oppose an application should still be able to offer and charge for accommodation for their couples and wedding guests, albeit for a limited number of nights.
The proposals would allow the change of use from a C3 dwellinghouse to a C5 short term let, without the need for a planning application or the payment of any fees, where there is no local issue. There would be a similar right to change back from a C5 (short term let) to a C3 (dwellinghouse) to allow short term let properties to be sold as residential properties in the future.
To minimise planning requirements where there is no local issue, it is proposed that the rights would not be subject to any limitations or conditions. This is particularly relevant to wedding venues as it means there would be no size limits or exclusions, and the rights would still apply to listed buildings, and those in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
In our opinion, this change would help formalise the planning position and give venues the confidence in offering on-site guest accommodation without the costs of applying for planning consent.
Scheme 2. Proposed registration of short term rental properties
The government is proposing a new registration scheme aimed at levelling up safety standards and providing a means to address any negative impacts on local communities where properties are used for short-term lets.
The scheme is not intended for hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs or professional self-catering accommodation providers as they are already registered and regulated.
However, it would ensure that all providers of any other short-term accommodation will need to comply with similar safety and quality standards to those already operating within existing regulation and quality assurance schemes.
These could extend to areas such as:
Gas and boiler safety
Fire and electrical safety
Furniture safety
Planning
Food safety
The scheme is expected to be “light touch” and would be introduced through secondary legislation and would only apply in England. There are already short-term let licensing schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and Wales is in the process of introducing a statutory licensing scheme.
The government is considering whether the scheme should extend to include temporary accommodation such as shepherd huts, treehouses, glamping and yurts.
It’s unclear at this stage whether the scheme would be managed by local councils or an organisation such as the English Tourist Board, and whether quality assurance scores similar to the food hygiene marks or hotel star ratings could form part of the scheme.
“In our opinion, the majority of wedding venues already operate their guest accommodation to the safety and quality standards that are being proposed, and registration would help formalise their position. ”
Xenia Venues’ approach to guest accommodation
At High House and Copdock Hall, we have converted the existing Farmhouse and Manor House into luxury ensuite accommodation, designed specifically for wedding guests. There is sufficient farmhouse accommodation at High House for 21 guests, and the Manor House at Copdock Hall accommodates 17 guests in 8 ensuite bedrooms.
In both cases, we obtained planning permission for the houses to be used for guest accommodation, rather that retaining the residential status. The properties are fully regulated and guests can be assured of the highest safety standards.
Written by
Alison Hargreaves
Alison has worked in the wedding industry for her entire career. She supplies government organisations with relevant data on the UK wedding industry to help ensure that changes to the laws and regulations support wedding businesses in operating in a safe, ethical and professional manner.
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