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Written question asked by Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru) on Monday, 13 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Dan Tomlinson (Labour) on Friday, 17 July 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Holiday Accommodation: Council Tax

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of delays by the Valuation Office Agency in undertaking tax band valuations for holiday let accommodation in Wales on the amount of Council Tax charged on these properties.

Answer

Since the legislative changes introduced on 1 April 2023, the Valuation Office (VO), which is part of HMRC, has seen a sustained increase in case volumes.

The VO are working hard to bring response times down and clear cases within 90 days. Additional resources have been allocated to self-catering cases, including the centralisation of the team to improve efficiency and processing times. The VO have also dedicated resources to look at the most challenging cases and requests where customers are experiencing financial hardship. Additionally, as part of HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap update 2026 The VO have pledged to reduce the average time for the VO to make a decision on self-catering properties to one month by October 2027


The VO is responsible for assessing properties for Council Tax and business rates purposes, whereas local councils are responsible for billing. As this is devolved to the Welsh Government, it would be for their Ministers to comment on any impact made on the amount of Council Tax that has been collected.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
18227
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Council tax Holiday accommodation Wales Valuation
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk