If you own a second home and are planning to set it up as a holiday home for rent, your thoughts might be on the things you can add to the home to make it more appealing. Although this aspect is exciting and important, you should know the laws that regulate owners of holiday homes in the UK. These regulations are basic, and you can use them as a starting point. They are meant to protect you, your property and your guests.

Different rules for holiday lets and long-term rentals

The legislation concerning long-term rental properties and Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) are the same, but there are some differences. Holiday letting contracts require guests to leave the holiday house at the end of their holiday stay.

Different tax laws cover a Furnished Holiday Let since it is classified as a business, and the owner is required to pay income tax for the rental income. You will pay a business tax instead of council tax. The Valuation Office will work out the rate based on type, quality, size, location, and your projected income.

Qualification

Your home can qualify as a Furnished Holiday Let if it is let commercially to the public for a minimum of 105 days every tax year, and the home is available to let for 210 days annually. A single letting should not go beyond 31 days (continuous).

After you have made the additions to your holiday home, you do not have to find clients yourself. Visit www.thewowhousecompany.com to know how they can help you find the guests for your holiday home.

Additional obligations

Aside from regulations, there are other obligations you should meet regarding utilities.

• Gas. Your gas appliances are covered by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. You should have a registered engineer to do an annual gas safety check on each gas appliance you have in the holiday home.
• Electricity. All the electrical equipment you use for the business should meet the requirements of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. Covered by the regulations are your guests, contractors and employees in the property. You should likewise undergo Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) regularly.
• Carbon Monoxide. Under England’s Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations of 2015, each room where there are appliances that use oil or gas, such as gas appliances, open fire or log burner, boiler or oven should have a carbon monoxide detector.
• Oil. If your holiday home is in a secluded location and uses oil for fuel, ensure that your appliances pass the OFTEC CD/12 Landlord Oil Installation Check conducted by a qualified person.
• Fire. You are obligated to have a fire risk assessment, according to the requirements of the 2006 Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (England and Wales) and similar regulations in Northern Ireland and Scotland. In England, you are legally required to install a smoke alarm in every room.
• Furniture. The upholstered furniture in your holiday home should meet the requirements of The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 regarding fire resistance.

These are the basic regulations you need to know. Aside from these, you should ensure that your home is accessible to people with disabilities. Moreover, it is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure that you maintain general safety to protect your home, your guests and yourself.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Traveling category

When you have to travel for work, the last thing you want to face is a subpar living accommodation. Instead, you want a home away from home that makes you feel cozy and comfortable so that you can focus on getting the job done. A smart temporary housing option is the extended stay hotel, according to businessman Brian Ferdinand in a recently published article on work and travel. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of extended stay hotels.

Important Extended Stay Hotel Considerations

According to the informative article, an extended stay hotel can be a suitable accommodation option based on the length of your stay. Extended stay hotel rooms are upgrades to standard hotel rooms, but they don’t offer the amenities and comforts available in options such as corporate housing or furnished apartments. That’s because extended stay hotels are just that: hotels.

That means you’ll be faced with minimal space, although the space is slightly bigger than what you’d find in a regular hotel room. In addition, everything you’ll use will most likely be located in a single place, according to Brian Ferdinand.

Core Benefits of Extended Stay Hotels

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining—or multiple silver linings, if you’re lucky. Fortunately, as a traveling worker, you’re in luck with an extended stay hotel for several reasons. For starters, these hotels are relatively safe for a solo traveler. That’s because the properties tend to be well lit and actively monitored. In addition, the hotel staff members can recommend activities and areas that would be safe for you to take advantage of.

An extended stay hotel also offers an opportunity to enjoy camaraderie with other guests. In this way, you can forge new friendships and even create a strong community network while you’re away from home.

Extended stay hotels are furthermore known for their flexibility. You can easily stay at these buildings for weeks or months and then leave when necessary. You don’t have to commit to staying in the property for a year as you would a traditional rental property.

Finally, extended stay hotels offer the benefit of providing you with cost savings. That’s because many locations decrease their rates for their longer-term guests. That means you can have more money in your pocket to maximize your business stay each time you travel out of town for several weeks at a time.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Traveling category

Air travel has come a long way since its beginning. These days, it’s easy to buy a plane ticket with a few clicks of the mouse, look up your itinerary online and check in from the comfort of your home. Simple and streamlined, right? Well, in theory yes, but we all know that when you set off on your journey, things don’t always work out as planned. However, as simple as it was to purchase your flight, you can just as easily get the compensation you deserve when something goes wrong. Read on to find out how technology can help you get justice!

Check your rights

The majority of passengers have no idea what their rights are and that’s perfectly understandable! Who on earth reads up on the legal side of flight irregularities in their spare time? That’s where companies like MYFLYRIGHT come in. You can easily get straightforward, up-to-date information on what to do when faced with a cancellation or delay, or getting bumped from a flight, on their site. There are even current flight statistics, so you can see what flight irregularities are going on now and how much compensation passengers can expect to receive for them.

Find out if you can claim

Has your flight been delayed for over 3 hours? Were you denied boarding? Were you told about a cancelled flight less than 14 days before departure? Chances are, you can claim. The great thing here is, you don’t have to navigate the tricky legal world of passenger rights to confirm if you have a case or not. MYFLYRIGHT’s free online compensation calculator does this for you – as soon as you enter the flight date and number, the system filters through all data related to your flight and lets you know in a matter of minutes. Even better, you can see the amount you should receive – this can be as much as 600 €, so it’s always worth checking.

Get your compensation

MYFLYRIGHT doesn’t just provide useful information for you and tell you if you have a claim, they can take care of your case for you. This means, by simply visiting their site and uploading the relevant documents, you’re getting justice. Bear in mind, this is all done without you having to hire legal services, go to court or even communicate with the airline at all. Thanks to advanced technologies, time spent checking a case has been reduced by 85% which benefits you, the passenger – now, making a claim is not only stress-free, you’re saving time as well.

What this means for the future

So, you already have access to the justice you deserve thanks to MYFLYRIGHT and their current advanced technologies and automations. Of course, it doesn’t stop there. To increase efficiency, new systems are now being developed to incorporate automated steps currently carried out manually by claims specialists. The result? A decrease by 50% in time spent on this process.

Being able to fight for your passenger rights is a real reflection of how advanced technologies are improving – not just increasing – access to justice. Judging by the speed with which companies like MYFLYRIGHT are progressing, the future looks bright!

To read more on topics like this, check out the traveling category.

To discover why China and New Zealand are two top travel destinations, which are well worth adding to your bucket list, simply continue reading to discover why exploring China or New Zealand will be one of the best decisions which you can make this year.

The top travel destinations to add to your bucket list:

1# New Zealand

While you’ll need to embark on a long haul plane flight in order to explore New Zealand, it’s definitely well worth the lengthy journey. New Zealand has a reputation for offering unspoilt natural beauty such as pristine lakes and glaciers, snow capped mountains and natural hot springs. Some of which boast their own waterfalls. New Zealand also offers a wide variety of adrenaline producing activities that are sure to delight thrill seekers, such as heli-skiing, jet boating, bungee jumping, white water rafting and black water rafting. If you enjoy mountain biking, you’re also in luck as New Zealand is home to a plethora of stunning mountain biking tracks.

If you’re a movie buff, it’s also a great idea to visit New Zealand in order to explore some of the picturesque sites where some of your favorite movies were filmed. As an example, if you’re a huge Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll love getting to explore the site where the Rivendell scenes were shot as it’s located in a beautiful park, Kaitoke Regional Park. Which is located in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. Better yet the arch way that leads into Rivendell, is still standing to let Tolkien fans experience a little movie magic, when they visit New Zealand. Also located at at Kaitoke Regional Park is an impressive bronze statue of Legolas. Everyone’s favorite elf.

Lastly as New Zealand is home to a few award winning wineries, it’s also a fun idea to explore a few of new Zealand’s world class wineries. Where you’ll be able to purchase a few bottles, to take home with you as souvenirs.

2# China

China is one of Asia’s most underrated travel destinations, with Japan and Thailand drawing greater numbers of western tourists. However, if you’re a self confessed buff, it’s well worth visiting China to visit some of its most important historical attractions. Some popular examples of which include the Great Wall of China, which is 21 million meters long and has to be seen to be believed and the Forbidden City. An ancient Chinese palace which is located in Beijing, the country’s capital city.

While in China it’s also well worth taking a trip to Xi’An where you’ll be able to view the site where the famous Terracotta Warriors were found. You may be shocked to learn that there are estimated to be over 8,000 individual states. All of which are one of a kind and feature unique details and which were thought to have been created between 210-209 BC. Yes, that’s right all of the Terracotta Warriors were created 200 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Lastly, it would be a shame to visit China without visiting the world famous Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Where you’ll get a chance to glimpse endangered giant panda cubs. As well as adult giant pandas.

So if you’re looking to visit an underrated travel destination that will take your breath away, you seriously can’t go wrong planning a trip to New Zealand or China.