Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has a definition of a second home.

There is not a single statutory definition of a second home.

For data collection purposes, the English Housing Survey defines a second home as a property that is primarily used as a holiday home (either by the owner or let to others) or a property occupied by the owner while working away from home.

For the purposes of council tax, a second home is considered a dwelling which is no one’s sole or main residence but is substantially furnished and occupied periodically.