Holiday Cottages in England

A self-catering break through Which Cottage means luxury, freedom and pure enjoyment. It means your home-from-home is your castle (quite literally – we do have some castles available!), you won’t be hassled to vacate your room at some unearthly hour so the part time cleaner can come in at the crack of dawn, and no one will give you the “evil eye” if the music session ran over and you didn’t get back until 2am. Self-catering also allows you to pick and choose not only what you eat, but when you eat it – especially good fun if you’re in an area of the country renowned for great local produce available fresh on a local market day. And if it all gets too much, you can enjoy an undisturbed late morning in bed, knowing that the paid-for inclusive breakfast has not been forfeited. It is fair to say that with so many wonderful properties to choose from, it can be quite a task to reserve the ideal holiday cottage. However, Which-Cottage operate somewhat differently to other sites – you deal directly with the owner – so there’s an immediate answer as to availability, and there are no agency fees to mysteriously inflate the price you thought you were going to pay. And this applies to cottages throughout the UK (England, Scotland and Wales) and Ireland. Which-Cottage ensures all facts and figures are at your fingertips – number of occupants, number of rooms, facilities and included extras (such as Wi-Fi, BBQ etc), disabled access, pet-friendliness, things…

The Chancellor George Osbourne has confirmed changes to the rules regarding Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) in his 2011 budget. The announcement confirms proposals previously announced, primarily: From 5 April 2011: Losses made on a holiday let can only be offset against income made on that same holiday let. The previous rules stated that losses could be offset against general income. FHL in both the UK and EEA will qualify (this is current practice but not legislation). Losses made in a qualifying FHL business either in the UK or EEA may only be set against income from the same FHL business. From 5 April 2012: A property must be available to let for no less than 210 days a year. The current minimum requirement is 140 days a year. This will disqualify many summer holiday lets that take a six month let in the winter. The property must be let for 105 days in the year. The current minimum letting period is 70 days. There will be a ‘period of grace’ to allow businesses that don’t continue to meet the ‘actually let’ test for 1 or 2 years to elect to continue to qualify throughout that period, providing that there was genuine intention to meet the condition. It is estimated the changes will affect 65,000 tax payers. The major disadvantage for most owners will be the inability to use losses from the FHL against other income. Those owners who will no longer qualify as a FHL under the new minimum letting periods will lose the generous…

Mark Lavington Cert CII – Director of specialist furnished holiday let insurance brokers Boshers Ltd, explains the importance of liability insurance for holiday home owners. “As a responsible holiday home owner you will always ensure that your holiday home is as safe an environment as possible for your guests and employees to frequent. However, it is often the unforeseen that will cause accidents leading to compensation claims which can be substantial. A slippery path, a loose paving slab, weather beaten garden furniture! – Have you inspected yours lately? A comprehensive Holiday Home Insurance policy, such as that arranged by Boshers will provide cover to indemnify you against your legal liability to pay damages and legal costs arising out of claims for bodily injury, death, disease or illness from a third party such as an employee, (i.e. a cleaner, gardener or key holder) and paying guests in connection with the running of your second home as a furnished holiday let. How much Employers Liability Insurance should you have? If you have a contract of service with anyone who helps you maintain your holiday let business, whether spoken, written or implied and you provide them with work materials and equipment, then you may be regarded as their employer, irrespective of their tax status. It is a legal requirement, that you have in place Employer’s Liability Insurance of at least £5m, in practice many insurers provide cover of £10m. How much Public and Products Liability Insurance should you have? Whilst not a compulsory insurance, we would recommend cover…