A woman who set up an outbuilding in her garden as a holiday let to make some extra cash has been stung as the council charged her £9,000 in tax.
When Caroline Byford moved into her Grade-II listed farmhouse, she was eager to get stuck in and make it her own.
And, when she found an old milking parlour at the bottom of her garden, which had been restored by the previous owners, the 62-year-old had an idea.
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To top up her pension, it was listed as a holiday rental; despite guests only having access through her property.
Sadly, it hasn’t worked in her favour, as although the building is within the premises of her home, Pembrokeshire council deems it a second dwelling.
As a result, Caroline’s council tax bills have seen a sharp increase, from a whopping £8,042 per year – with a 200% second home premium – to just over £9,000.
“It seems that the council assumes one size fits all when it comes to defining a second home,” the retiree told What’s The Jam.
“We are in an unfair situation of parasitic tax.
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“Wales is no longer a place for opportunity or investment.”
Caroline and her husband, Shaun, 64, purchased the property in May 2024.
The old milking parlour had been in a state of disrepair – but was restored prior to purchase – and is situated just three metres from the farmhouse.
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It had been used as an extended accommodation to the family home once upon a time.
She said: “There is no access to the old milking parlour other than through our home and garden.
“It shares utility services with ours, too.
“It can’t be sold since there is no access to the property elsewhere.”
To mitigate the extreme tax, they listed it as a holiday rental.
But there’s a rule in place that the dwelling must be rented out for at least 182 days throughout the year and available for 252 days to benefit from business rates.
Caroline said: “As we have to be on-site to show guests how to access the barn, it means we struggle to plan for time away ourselves.
“Our family is not local and would involve a few days away from site, which isn’t possible.
“We deserve to be able to plan time away and not be penalised for it.
“Having three bedrooms, the building is attracting families who are only available during school holidays.
“If someone books a long weekend, then it penalises us achieving the full seven-night booking since the rest of the week is no longer attractive to other visitors.
“Along with the cost of maintenance, insurance and utility bills – and of course, council tax, we’re not covering our costs in letting the home.”
Caroline claims her council tax was £6,032.64 – including 200% second home premium – for the holiday let in 2024/25.
Her property was £2,010.88.
For 2025/26, this increased to £6,223.13 – with 150% second home premium for the second dwelling – with a further £2,941.84 owed on their property.
In total, she’s forked out a whopping £9,164.97 for the year on council tax alone.
According to the National Association of Local Councils, the average bill in the UK is for Band D; totalling £2,392 per annum.
Caroline said: “I don’t get why we’re being encouraged to save old farm outbuildings if there’s no benefit; only penalties.
“We live onsite and cannot use our garden or home in the way that we would like to, as we have to be mindful of the holiday let guests.
“Privacy is an issue for everyone.
“The council has set unreasonable targets for the holiday letting market, especially in rural areas.
“Either I’m a business, or I’m not.”
Caroline has written to several local MPs, though she claims to have only received holding statements while they review her case.
She added: “We’re constantly worrying about our finances and if we will obtain enough bookings to cover the costs of running, maintaining and insuring the barn.
“There isn’t much more we can do.
“It’s so very stressful.
“We incur all the hard work, expense and worry for very little reward.”
A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council said: “The number of letting days and the criteria for a property to attract the second home premium are set by Welsh Government legislation.
“Council taxpayers are advised to check whether their property meets any of the statutory exceptions to the premium.
“Please note that we are unable to comment on individual cases.
“Full details of all statutory exceptions can be found on our website.”
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