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A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottages, that travelers can rent and enjoy as if it were their own home for the duration of their stay. The properties may be owned by those using them for a vacation, in which case the term second home applies; or may be rented out to holidaymakers through an agency. Terminology varies among countries. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
this type of property is usually termed a ''holiday home'' or ''holiday cottage''; in Australia, a ''holiday house/home'', or ''weekender''; in New Zealand, a ''bach'' or ''crib''.


Characteristics and advantages

Today's global short-term vacation property rental market is estimated to be worth $100 billion. The holiday cottage market in both Canada and the UK is highly competitive – and big business.


Numbers


United Kingdom


Wales

Holiday homes and second homes comprise 14% of the housing stock in
Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the na ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, compared to the figure of 1% for the whole of Wales. Only in Gwynedd has the council put in place measures to control the number of holiday homes. But they only control new developments, by withholding permission where consent is likely to raise the figure in any community above 10%, they do not stop anyone from buying a holiday home. In Wales, a traditional group of holiday cottage agencies still exist as a network, and many of which still work collaboratively under Visit Wales, which used to be the Wales Tourist Board.


Cornwall

The number in
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and the Isles of Scilly was calculated to be 5.6% in 2004 and 2006, this was the region which had the highest number of second homes in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Within a year alone, between 2004 and 2005, the percentage of holiday/second homes in England increased by 3.3%.


Scotland

There were 29,299 holiday/summer homes in Scotland on the 2001 Scottish Census, which accounted for 1.3% of Scotland's housing stock. This figure was 19,756 in 1981, but the majority of the increase occurred during the 1990s. The greatest increase was seen in urban areas, contrary to the usual trends, and increased especially in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
and
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
. But the majority of holiday/second homes are still to be found in rural areas, notably, 47% of these are to be found in the remote rural areas, where one in every eight house is a holiday or second home.


France

The figure in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
was also fairly high in 2008: approximately 10% of all the housing stock was a holiday or second home, but the majority of these were owned by French. There were approximately 300,000 homes, or 1% of the total housing stock which were the property of owners from abroad. Of this percentage 28% were owned by British owners, 14% Italian, 10% Belgian, 8% Dutch, 3% Spanish and 3% American.


United States

In 2000, 3,578,718, or 3.1% of the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
housing stock, were holiday or second homes, compared with 2.7% in 1990, and 1.9% in 1980. 26% of all these are located in the north-eastern states, with approximately 250,199 (7% of all the second homes in the U.S.) located in New York, and
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
having the largest percentage of its housing stock as second homes.


Canada

Second homes are referred to differently in different parts of the country; in Ontario it is usually 'cottage', while 'cabin' or 'the lake' is used in much of the rest of Canada. In Nova Scotia, it is also usually 'cottage' but sometimes 'camp' or, particularly if large, 'summer home' or 'summer place'. In Quebec French, a cottage or summer dwelling is often referred to as a
chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...
whether or not it is built in the style of a Swiss chalet or located on a ski hill; the term is used among
English-speaking Quebecers English-speaking Quebecers, also known as Anglo-Quebecers, English Quebecers, or Anglophone Quebecers (all alternately spelt Quebeckers; in French ''Anglo-Québécois'', ''Québécois Anglophone'') or simply Anglos in a Quebec context, are a ...
as well. Muskoka is referred to as "cottage country" and sees over 2.1 million visitors annually. Among Quebecers, the
Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...
(or "Laurentians") is an area for weekend and vacation homes. On the East Coast, the Maritimes are home to oceanfront cottages. Likewise,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
on the West Coast is another vacation destination. In the
Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
and British Columbia Interior, vacation properties are located near or on freshwater lakes.


Costs and effects


Financial and legal implications

In the UK, furnished holiday lettings offer other tax relief providing certain conditions are met. The current conditions are: *It should be available for commercial letting to the public for a total of 140 days in the 12-month period. *It must be let for at least 70 days in the 12-month period. (Where more than one qualifying property is held, it is possible to average the number of days all properties are let in total in order to meet this condition.) *The total periods of long term occupation may not exceed 155 days during the 12-month period. Second home and holiday home owners used to be able to claim discounts in their
council tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn re ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, as the property is vacant for much of the year. This is no longer true in many areas, including
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
; if the property is empty (but furnished) no discount is permitted and the owner will be liable to pay the tax in full. But, In Cornwall, since 2004 second home owners can claim a 10% discount in their council tax. Prior to 2004, they could claim a 50% discount in Cornwall, they are still able to claim 50% in many other areas in England. The Welsh movement,
Cymuned Cymuned (translated in English as "community", ) was a Welsh communities pressure group. Established in 2001, the group campaigned on behalf of local communities in Wales, particularly (but not exclusively) Welsh-speaking and rural ones, which ...
, promote the principle that owners of holiday homes should pay double the standard rate of council tax, as they do not otherwise invest in the local community. Testimony of this is to be seen in a report on the effect of holiday homes in Scotland, which found that those who went on holiday to Scotland spent an average of £57 a day, in comparison to just £32 a day spent by those visiting their holiday or second homes.


Community

Owners of holiday homes will occasionally move to their second homes permanently upon retirement, this can be a threat to the culture of an area, especially in Wales where the influx of non-Welsh speakers affects the percentage of Welsh speakers in the area and reduces the use of Welsh in everyday life. Hundreds of second homes were burnt between 1979 and the mid-1990s as part of a campaign by nationalist movement
Meibion Glyndŵr Meibion Glyndŵr (, Sons of Glyndŵr) was a group linked to arson of English-owned holiday homes in Wales. They were formed in response to the housing crisis in Wales precipitated by large numbers of houses being bought by wealthy English peop ...
to protect the indigenous language and culture.


See also

*
A-frame house An A-frame house or other A-frame building is an architectural house or building style featuring steeply-angled sides (roofline) that usually begin at or near the foundation line, and meet at the top in the shape of the letter A. An A-frame ...
* Apartment *
Beach house Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 t ...
* Cottage *
Dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...
* Log cabin *
Mar del Plata style The Mar del Plata style ( es, Estilo Mar del Plata, or ) is a vernacular architectural style very popular during the decades between 1935 and 1950 mainly in the Argentine resort city of Mar del Plata, but extended to nearby coastal towns like ...
*
Moroccan riad A riad ( ar, رياض, riyāḑ; also spelled "riyad") is a type of traditional Moroccan and Andalusi interior garden or courtyard associated with house and palace architecture. Its origin is generally attributed to Persian gardens that spread ...
*
Pied-à-terre A ''pied-à-terre'' (, plural: ''pieds-à-terre''; French for "foot on the ground") is a small living unit, e.g., apartment or condominium, often located in a large city and not used as an individual's primary residence. The term implies use o ...
*
Sommerhus A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden ...
* Vacation home deductions * Villa holiday


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holiday Cottage House types Hotel types Holidays Tourist accommodations