Short-term letting in Cardiff and Newport

A capital city of stadium events

Cardiff's short-stay market runs on events. International rugby and football, Six Nations weekends, stadium concerts and boxing nights fill the city at short notice; the Senedd, the civil service, two universities and the hospitals keep weekdays busy; and Cardiff Bay attracts leisure visitors. Newport, twenty minutes away by train, adds the International Convention Centre Wales, the Ryder Cup legacy of its golf resort and cheaper overflow accommodation on big weekends. The stock is mostly city-centre and Bay apartments, with terraced houses in Cathays, Canton and Roath suited to groups.

Cardiff introduces the first Welsh visitor levy

Cardiff is the first Welsh council to adopt the visitor levy. From 1 April 2027, overnight stays of up to 31 nights will carry £1.30 per person per night in most accommodation, including short lets, and 75p in hostels and on campsites. The Welsh Revenue Authority asked providers to start accounting for the levy on bookings from late September 2026. Newport has not adopted a levy.

Register now, licence later

Both cities fall under the national register, open since 1 October 2026: every provider of stays of 31 nights or less must be registered by 31 March 2027, free of charge, with penalties for those who are not. Licensing for self-catering accommodation, enabled by the 2026 Act, is scheduled by default for March 2030. Wales sets no annual cap on the number of nights a home can be let.

Council tax and the 182-day rule

Cardiff charges a 100% premium on second homes and furnished properties that are no one's residence, and Newport has done the same since 1 April 2025. A self-catering property can be rated as a business only if available for 252 days and let for 182 days a year; the Welsh Government is consulting on easing this until 23 October 2026.

Our advice

Build the levy into pricing and booking systems now, check flat leases, and plan staffing for event weekends when turnovers cluster. Tell us about the property: we study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.

Match days, castles and the Roman town

The Principality Stadium stands in the city centre with a retractable roof, so rugby and concert crowds walk straight from Central station into the streets around it. On those days roads close, trains are queued and taxis are scarce. Tell guests to arrive early or late, never in the hour before kick-off. Sophia Gardens hosts cricket, and the Cardiff City Stadium in Leckwith hosts football.

Leisure visitors combine the castle and Bute Park with the Wales Millennium Centre on the Bay, and walk across the barrage to Penarth with its pier. Barry Island, a short trip west, attracts families and television fans. Cardiff Airport at Rhoose adds travellers taking early flights.

Newport has attractions of its own that guests rarely expect:

• Caerleon, with the remains of a Roman legionary fortress, its baths and amphitheatre, suits history-minded families.
• Tredegar House, a restored seventeenth-century mansion, and the Newport Wetlands reserve on the estuary give quieter days out.
• Rodney Parade is home to the Dragons rugby side, with its own match-day market.

The Transporter Bridge, one of very few of its kind still standing, has been undergoing restoration; check its status before recommending a visit. A Newport base with parking and a direct train can serve Cardiff events at a lower price for guests.