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Letting a shepherd's hut as a holiday let

What it takes to let a hut legally and safely, and where to list it.

Updated 23 October 2026

A green hut on a raised chassis with wooden steps, beside a picnic table on a grassy field

The short answer: letting a hut to holidaymakers usually needs planning permission and a caravan site licence.12 In England, once you charge anyone to stay, you must carry out and record a fire risk assessment.3 A let hut is likely to be assessed for business rates, and small business rate relief can cut the bill to nothing.45

Planning and licences

A hut let to paying guests is generally treated as a new holiday unit. The Peak District refused one in a back garden as "the creation of a new holiday let dwelling".2 The 60-day temporary campsite right in England doesn't help, because it excludes caravans, and planners count huts as caravans.67 A site licence from the council is normally needed too.81 Our planning guide explains the rules.

Business rates or council tax

According to Tozers solicitors, the Valuation Office Agency has confirmed that huts and pods count as caravans for rating because they aren't permanently fixed to the land.14 That matters, because the well-known holiday let tests (available for 140 days and let for 70 in England, or 252 and 182 in Wales) apply to buildings.151617 A caravan's pitch only counts as part of a home for council tax if the caravan is someone's main home, and the VOA says a caravan let commercially for holidays is not domestic.174 So a let hut is likely to be assessed for business rates from the start, while a hut used only by your household stays part of your home. Small business rate relief means no business rates at all on a rateable value of £12,000 or less, if it's your only business property or your others are very small.5 This is our reading of the law, so check with the VOA or an accountant.

The furnished holiday lettings tax regime, which gave holiday lets some of the tax breaks available to traders, was abolished from April 2025.18 Take advice from an accountant on how your income will be taxed.

Fire safety

In England, the Home Office guide for small paid accommodation names shepherd's huts. You must carry out and record a fire risk assessment, usually reviewed every year.3 Wales has separate guidance, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety law.19 It says carbon monoxide detectors "should be provided" where there's a solid fuel appliance, and recommends mains smoke alarms with a battery backup.3 For a log burner it lists a spark guard, a yearly sweep, a hearth big enough to keep rugs clear, safe kindling storage, a metal ash bin and instructions for guests.3 VisitBritain adds: test electrics at least every five years, service heating yearly, and don't give guests candles.19

Insurance

A hut used by your household may go on your home insurance as an outbuilding, but letting it needs a holiday let policy with public liability and business cover.20 Glamping policies commonly offer £5 million of public liability, with cover for each unit including the stove.21

What a hut can earn

Reliable figures are scarce. Holiday parks and campsites in England averaged 68% occupancy at their August 2022 peak; the report gives no figure for glamping or huts.22 One hut maker's rental calculator assumes £160 a night and 50% occupancy, but that is the maker's own assumption.23 Look at what similar huts near you charge and how booked up they are before you commit.

Where to list it

SiteHow it charges owners
Canopy & StarsNo joining fee; takes a commission plus VAT on it; pays monthly24
Sawday'sAnnual membership fee, no commission; inspects every place and accepts about half of applicants25
AirbnbUsually about 3% to the host, or 15.5% on the host-only fee option26
HipcampFree to list; its help centre gives a 15% commission for private landowners27
Cool StaysSubscription, no commission28
PitchupFree to list; commission taken as a deposit29

Many owners use more than one site. If you're buying a hut to let, see our buying guide for what guests expect.

Questions people ask

Does a shepherd's hut holiday let pay business rates?

Probably. Huts that can be moved count as caravans, and the VOA says a caravan let commercially for holidays is not domestic, so a let hut is likely to be rated as a business. Small business rate relief can reduce the bill to nothing.45

Do I need a fire risk assessment for a shepherd's hut?

Yes, in England, once you charge anyone to stay. The Home Office guide for small paid accommodation names shepherd's huts.3

Related guides

A black and white photo of a timber hut on wheels with a small porch in a fieldPlanningWhen you need permission. A weathered timber hut with a corrugated roof, a chimney and large iron wheels beside a lakeWood burnersThe HETAS rules. The end of a dark green hut with a white door and windows beside a field at duskMakersWho builds huts for letting.

Sources

  1. Royal Town Planning Institute, November 2023, Camping, glamping and caravanning: planning policy and licensing (practice note).
  2. Peak District National Park Authority, 2017, Planning officer report: shepherd's hut holiday let, Stoney Middleton.
  3. Home Office, A guide to making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire.
  4. Valuation Office Agency, Rating Manual: caravans, caravan sites, parks and pitches.
  5. GOV.UK, Small business rate relief.
  6. legislation.gov.uk, The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development etc.) (England) (Amendment) Order 2023, article 3.
  7. North York Moors National Park Authority, 60-day temporary campsite guidance.
  8. legislation.gov.uk, Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 1.
  9. Welsh Government, Registering visitor accommodation: overview.
  10. The Camping and Caravanning Club, Visitor levy.
  11. Stirling Council, How short-term let licensing works.
  12. legislation.gov.uk, The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022, Schedule 1.
  13. Tourism NI, What do you need to consider?.
  14. Tozers solicitors, October 2021, Is a glamping pod or shepherd's hut classed as a building?.
  15. Westmorland and Furness Council, Changes to business rates eligibility for holiday lets.
  16. Welsh Government, Local taxes for second homes and self-catering accommodation.
  17. legislation.gov.uk, Local Government Finance Act 1988, section 66.
  18. House of Commons Library, October 2024, Abolition of the furnished holiday lettings tax regime.
  19. VisitBritain, Fire safety: general.
  20. Pumphrey & Weston (maker), May 2025, Do you need insurance for your shepherd's hut?.
  21. Cover Trade Insurance (insurer), Campsites and glamping insurance.
  22. UKCCA, February 2024, UK Caravan and Camping Alliance: England report 2024.
  23. Plankbridge (maker), Shepherd's hut rental calculator.
  24. Canopy & Stars, Owner FAQs.
  25. Sawday's, Join us.
  26. Smoobu, November 2025, Airbnb's UK commission fee.
  27. Hipcamp, How much does it cost to list on Hipcamp?.
  28. Cool Stays, List your property.
  29. Pitchup, Supplier FAQs.