Start with what the building is allowed to do
If it's currently a family home, letting it nightly changes how it's used — and whether that needs permission depends on the council. The short-let rules in England have been shifting for a couple of years, with a registration scheme on the way, so don't rely on a 2023 blog post (or, frankly, on this one). Ring the planning department and ask what applies today. It's a dull phone call but one that can save you money.
And if the building is listed — in Suffolk and Norfolk villages it very often is — alterations need consent first, including plenty of internal work. Consent is rarely refused for sensible things. Skipping it is a criminal offence so not a risk worth running.
Council tax or business rates — do this sum early
A holiday let in England can move onto business rates once it's available 140 nights a year and actually let for 70 — and smaller properties then often qualify for 100% small business rates relief, meaning nothing to pay at all. That's the good news, and it's why the sum is worth doing before you offer.
The trap is year one. You can't hit the letting numbers before you've started letting, so you'll usually spend the first year on council tax and many East Anglian councils now charge a second-home premium, which can mean double. On a Band F farmhouse that is a substantial number. Make sure to budget for this now to avoid a nasty surprise later on.
The East Anglian file
Check the Environment Agency flood map before the second viewing, not after the survey — the Broads, the Fens and long stretches of the coast carry designations that change what insurance costs and whether some lenders will play at all. If it's thatched, get an insurance quote before you offer and ask when the ridge was last done.
If the property is off the mains, drainage is yours. A septic tank discharging to a ditch has been non-compliant since 2020, and the treatment plant that replaces it lands on whoever owns the house. Which, the day after completion, is you.
- Planning history, and any conditions on holiday use
- Listed status, plus consents for past alterations
- Council tax band and the district's second-home premium policy
- Environment Agency flood map for the plot
- Drainage arrangement and whether it meets the 2020 rules
- The premises licence, if there's a bar
Nothing on this list is expensive to find out. Everything on it is expensive to find out later.
When we appraise a building for a client, this file is the first thing we assemble — usually inside a week, because we know how quickly these things move. If you're circling something, send us the listing before you offer and we'll tell you what we'd want answered first.