The Development & Planning Authority has agreed an extension to the period enabling long-stay, qualified residents to be accommodated in visitor accommodation without the requirement for a change of use application to be submitted.
These Regulations extend the date for the ending of the period during which a temporary change of use of premises can occur, from a visitor accommodation use to certain residential uses, without planning permission. Serviced and non-serviced visitor accommodation (class 7 and class 8) are both able to change use under the exemption, but only if they provide accommodation that could be used as a residential ‘dwelling’ (class 1) – in other words, a place someone could live on their own. For example, somewhere with kitchen and toilet facilities.
The date is extended from 28th February 2026 to 28th February 2027.
As a result of the above change, the Regulations also extend the date on or by which the premises, the use of which has been changed temporarily in reliance on the exemption, has to revert to its previous visitor accommodation use. The date is extended from 31st March 2026 to 31st March 2027.
These Regulations came into force on the 14th January 2026.
Please note that if you wish to accommodate long-stay residents under this exemption, you should inform qualitydevelopment@gov.gg and planning@gov.gg of your intention in order that this can be correctly recorded. If your property is currently classed as use Class 7 (serviced) or used Class 8 (non-serviced) you are required to hold a valid boarding permit throughout the entire period of the exemption (you will receive an invite to renew for 2026 and subsequently for 2027) and to respond to the monthly occupancy surveys.
We appreciate there may be some specific cases where it isn’t immediately clear if the change of use is permissible or not. In those instances, please contact us at qualitydevelopment@gov.gg or planning@gov.gg and we would be happy to advise you further.
