The holiday let boom continues to pick up speed

The UK holiday let market is heading into what looks set to be its strongest year on record, right at the point it enters its most regulated. It is an odd contrast, but one that is already changing how borrowers, lenders and brokers approach the market. 

A new dawn for holiday lets 

Forward bookings data from Sykes Holiday Cottages shows January 2026 bookings up nine per cent year on year, with the agency anticipating a record-breaking year for UK stays. Average gross income for a three-bedroom holiday let reached £25,600 in 2025, rising to £36,000 for a four-bedroom and over £48,000 for a five-bedroom. Top-performing locations are pulling further even ahead. Owners in Matlock, Derbyshire, earned an average of £34,000 in 2025, 33 per cent above the UK average, with bookings per property up 14 per cent year on year. 

Traditional hotspots like Cornwall and Dorset still feature in the top ten, but the shape of demand is changing. The Scottish Highlands and Islands have climbed from tenth to first place in 2026 forward bookings per property, with Northumberland moving up to second. Rural, value-led destinations are catching up (and in some cases overtaking) the postcards-and-seaside names brokers are used to fielding enquiries for.  

A sector becoming more professional, whether owners want it or not 

While the holiday let sector seemingly enters its boom phase, the regulatory floor is also rising. England’s national short-term let register is set to go live. A new planning use class for short-term lets is moving through alongside it, and a visitor levy for short-term accommodation is now part of the broader policy conversation. 

The implementation detail is still moving, but the principle is settled. Holiday let owners in England will need registration numbers on their listings and a clearer paper trail than many have kept so far, as the sector aims to take a more professional approach.   

A 2023 government consultation found 61 per cent of respondents backed mandatory registration. And in Sykes’s 2026 outlook survey, 37 per cent of owners said they plan to make their property available for more nights this year, with another 37 per cent planning to invest in facilities. 

Where brokers hold the cards 

A holiday let purchase has never looked less like a typical mortgage. Income is seasonal and variable, while valuation can hinge on tourism data as much as comparables. The client in front of the broker might be a first-time landlord testing the market, or an experienced portfolio investor layering in a new income stream. Increasingly, they may be a non-UK resident looking for a UK foothold. Every route has different underwriting requirements, and each one now sits inside a regulatory environment that will keep moving. 

A coastal two-bedder that the client wants to run on Airbnb for six months of the year is a different case from a city-centre apartment in an investor-led block. A first-time landlord entering through a limited company needs a different conversation from a portfolio landlord adding a third holiday let in the Lakes. 

Knowing which lenders will assess a holiday let case on its merits, and who will fall back on tighter LTVs or a decline, is only half the job. Clients will keep arriving with these enquiries. If you can read the market and point your client toward a lender comfortable with the category, you're the one they come back to. 

Holiday lets are moving into a different phase 

Holiday lets continue to make up a growing share of the specialist buy-to-let market, and they are about to become a more regulated, better-documented one. Clients will be weighing up both, and they will want a broker who can speak to each and provide the required guidance.

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