Rules brought in to limit the amount of second homes in Wales are unfairly hitting businesses owners in Wales, according to the Wales Tourism Alliance. New occupancy rules for businesses mean that they need to be occupied for at least 50% of the year to prevent from being classed as second homes and being subject to premium council tax rates.
Under the coalition agreement with Plaid Cymru the Welsh Government introduced legislation that allowed councils to massively raise council tax on second homes. Welsh Government is taking action due to community pressure to mitigate the impact of second homes on rural and coastal communities.
Second homes have a massive impact on Welsh communities in some parts of Wales. If they are in great numbers they can force local people to move elsewhere due to price inflation, erode the foundations of the Welsh language and leave schools under subscribed.
