Qurexa Logo
Qurexa

Trust. Care. Deliver.

Back to Blog & Insights
Travel

A maximum of 5%, the first 28 nights, and ten mayors who have signed up

Qurexa Editorial Team5 November 20268 min read 0 0
A maximum of 5%, the first 28 nights, and ten mayors who have signed up

What happened

On 4 November 2026, the Visitor Levy Bill was introduced in the House of Commons. If it passes, mayors and local leaders in England will be able to add a small charge to overnight stays, and keep the money locally. The charge would be a percentage of the accommodation cost rather than a flat fee. That detail matters: it means a budget room pays less than a luxury suite, rather than everyone paying the same pound-per-night. Ten mayors have committed to a maximum levy of 5%. The levy would apply only to the first 28 consecutive days of a stay, so long stays are not charged indefinitely. The money is meant to go back into the things visitors use: high streets, public spaces, cultural events, attractions, transport, and promoting the area. There are safeguards built in. Local leaders must publish a draft plan and an impact assessment, consult people and businesses, and get agreement within their Strategic Authority before any final decision. Foundation Strategic Authorities need unanimous support. Levies must then be reported on annually, covering income, spending and future plans. Some accommodation is exempt nationally: student accommodation, care homes, children's homes and school boarding houses. Temporary accommodation, shelters and refuges are not charged. Local leaders can add limited further exemptions, such as camping pitches. Occasional hosts - people letting out a spare room now and then - would only pay if their earnings exceed a set threshold, which local leaders can adjust. Accommodation providers would collect and pay the levy, with government guidance to follow on registration, payment and reporting. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: "Every pound raised through these levies will stay in the local area."

Why this matters

If you take holidays in England, this is a charge that could appear on your bill. So it is worth knowing how it would work before it arrives. Visitor levies - often called tourist taxes - are common across Europe. Many people have paid one in Barcelona, Rome or Amsterdam without thinking much about it. England has not had a general power to charge them, which is why this is a change rather than an increase. The case for it is that visitors use local services they do not pay council tax towards. Street cleaning, public toilets, pavements, transport and events are funded locally but used by everyone who visits. In places where visitors vastly outnumber residents, that is a real imbalance. The case against is simple too: it makes a holiday cost more, and it adds administration for small accommodation businesses. For a Lincolnshire reader, the local angle is worth noting. The East Midlands is one of the mayoral areas involved, and Mayor Claire Ward said: "There will be full consultation before a levy is introduced." So nothing is settled where we are. The percentage-based design is the most consumer-friendly part of this. A flat nightly charge hits cheap stays hardest - £2 a night is a lot on a £40 room and nothing on a £400 one. A percentage keeps the proportion the same.

What the evidence actually says

The government published a long list of figures, and they are worth sorting into evidence and sales pitch. The strongest evidence comes from Greater Manchester, because it has actually done this. Its Business Improvement District charge of £1 per room per night, introduced in 2023, raised £2.8 million in its first year. That is a real figure from a real scheme, and it gives a sense of scale: a modest charge in a large city raises a few million pounds a year, not hundreds of millions. The other local figures are projections or context. The Liverpool City Region says its visitor economy is worth over £6.8 billion a year, supporting over 55,000 jobs, and Mayor Steve Rotheram said "a modest levy on overnight stays could potentially raise up to £18m a year". Note "could potentially" and "up to" - that is an estimate, not a forecast anyone is committed to. Visitor numbers were quoted for several areas: over 40 million a year in York and North Yorkshire, over 100 million in the West Midlands supporting 150,000 local jobs, 11.6 million at the Southbank Centre, and nearly 20 million visitors to London each year according to the National Theatre. Nationally, VisitBritain reported 40 million inbound visits to the UK last year, with £35 billion spent across 293 million nights. British residents took 89.6 million overnight trips, spending £27.3 billion across around 260 million overnight stays. Two figures in the announcement are doing political rather than evidential work. One is an OECD finding that doubling the share of tax or spending controlled by subnational governments is associated with a 3% average increase in GDP per capita. "Associated with" is not "causes", and doubling local control is not what this Bill does. The other is the claim that the UK has invested less in its future than any other G7 country over three decades - true or not, it is not evidence about visitor levies. The mayors quoted were broadly supportive, though the emphasis varied. Bev Craig of Greater Manchester said: "The important thing now is that this is genuinely devolved." Oliver Coppard of South Yorkshire put it more bluntly: "Whether we take the decision to implement the levy or not, we now - rightly - control that decision." Sadiq Khan said: "After years of lobbying, I wholeheartedly welcome this Bill." And the central caveat: this is a Bill introduced on 4 November 2026. It is not law, no levy exists yet anywhere under it, and each area would have to consult before introducing one.

Practical advice

Do not change travel plans over this. No levy exists yet. The Bill has to pass, and then each area has to publish a plan, run a consultation and get agreement before charging anything. When levies do arrive, expect to see them at checkout or at the accommodation rather than buried in the headline price. Ask when booking whether a visitor levy applies, particularly for 2027 onwards. If you are staying more than four weeks, remember the levy would only apply to the first 28 consecutive days. Check the exemptions if they might apply to you. Student accommodation, care homes, children's homes and school boarding houses are exempt nationally. Temporary accommodation, shelters and refuges are not charged. Camping pitches may be exempted locally - which is worth asking about if you camp. If you let out a room occasionally, find out where your local threshold sits. Below it, you would not pay. Local leaders can adjust the threshold, so it will vary by area. If you run accommodation as a business, the administration falls on you: registration, collection, payment and reporting. Government guidance is promised, and it is better to read it early than to catch up later. And if you have a view on whether your area should charge a levy, the consultation stage is your moment. Local leaders must consult people and businesses before deciding, and these consultations typically get far fewer responses than you would expect - so an individual response genuinely counts. Watch your mayoral authority's website.

What to know

The Visitor Levy Bill was introduced in the Commons on 4 November 2026. It would let mayors and local leaders in England charge a levy on overnight stays and keep the money locally for high streets, public spaces, culture, attractions, transport and promotion. The design: a percentage of accommodation cost rather than a flat fee; a maximum of 5% committed to by ten mayors; applying only to the first 28 consecutive days of a stay. Exempt nationally: student accommodation, care homes, children's homes and school boarding houses. Not charged: temporary accommodation, shelters and refuges. Camping pitches may be exempted locally. Before any levy starts, local leaders must publish a draft plan and impact assessment, consult residents and businesses, and secure agreement within their Strategic Authority. Income and spending must be reported annually. The most useful real-world benchmark: Greater Manchester's £1-per-room-per-night scheme raised £2.8 million in its first year. Other figures quoted, including Liverpool's potential £18 million a year, are estimates. Nothing is payable yet. This is a Bill, not a law. Sources: GOV.UK / Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 'New visitor levy powers to put money back into local communities', 4 November 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-visitor-levy-powers-to-put-money-back-into-local-communities | UK Parliament, Visitor Levy Bill, introduced 4 November 2026, https://bills.parliament.uk/ | VisitBritain, inbound and domestic tourism statistics, https://www.visitbritain.org/ This article is for general information. It is not legal, financial or travel advice, and it does not replace guidance from a qualified professional.

#visitor levy#tourist tax#UK travel#mayors#tourism#accommodation

Related articles