Holiday cottage

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.

Today's global short-term vacation property rental market is estimated to be worth $100 billion.

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.

[10] The figure in France 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.

This is no longer true in many areas,[citation needed] including Carmarthenshire; if the property is empty (but furnished) no discount is permitted and the owner will be liable to pay the tax in full.

[7] The Welsh movement, Cymuned, 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.

[4] 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.

[14][15] Hundreds of second homes were burnt between 1979 and the mid-1990s as part of a campaign by nationalist movement Meibion Glyndŵr to protect the indigenous language and culture.