Winter lets in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch

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A winter let is a furnished home let for weeks or months between November and March to someone who needs to live in the area for a season. In Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch the people taking them are relocating employees, contractors, hospital staff and households placed by an insurer, and the homes they rent are often holiday lets and furnished flats that would otherwise sit empty until Easter. Flexie Estate Agents works both sides: we let the group's apartments to winter residents, and we help landlords and holiday let owners keep their property earning through the quiet months.

Who takes a winter let

Summer on the Dorset coast is holiday guests. Winter is people with a reason to be here:

• Relocations. Someone starting a job at the Lansdowne, the universities or the airport, renting furnished while they decide where to buy or rent for good.
• Contractors. Engineers and project teams on construction, infrastructure and refits, booked by the month and often by their employer.
• Hospital staff. Nurses, doctors and locums on rotation at the Royal Bournemouth and Poole hospitals.
• Insurance placements. Households whose home has been flooded or damaged by fire, housed by their insurer until the repairs are done.
• Remote workers and academics. People spending a term or a few months by the sea.

Most of them want the same things: a furnished home, bills included, parking, fast Wi-Fi and no twelve-month contract.

For owners: keeping the property earning in winter

A holiday let near the beach earns most of its year between Easter and September. From November to March holiday bookings thin to weekends and the odd half term. A winter let fills those months with one or two stays of several weeks each, which means fewer changeovers and a steadier calendar.

This is where the group's platform comes in. Every holiday let managed by Sea Breeze Property Services, the group's holiday let management arm, is also listed on Flexiestays, Bournemouth's number one platform for winter and long stays, where the relocations, contractors, NHS staff and insurance guests above book for weeks and months. Flexiestays charges only 8% on the bookings it brings to managed properties. Winter stays are set to end before Easter and the summer, so holiday guests and your own weeks are not displaced. Holiday let management explains the Sea Breeze service, and winter lets explained sets out the season in detail.

A landlord with a furnished flat between tenancies, or a flat that suits shorter stays better than a tenancy, can use the same route. List your property and we will say whether it fits and what the fee is; our fees page names the service levels.

The 28-night line

Twenty-eight nights is the minimum for a long stay on Flexiestays and the point where a holiday booking becomes a stay of a month or more. It matters for three reasons. Longer stays mean fewer cleans and less wear. A stay where the property is not the guest's only or main home sits outside the assured tenancy rules, so a serviced let of a few months is not a tenancy. And a guest who makes a property their main home for a long period may be a tenant whatever the booking is called, so we choose the agreement for the length and purpose of each stay. Long stay or tenancy explains the difference. This is general information, not legal advice.

The 140 and 70-night test

At the time of writing, a property in England is assessed for business rates rather than council tax if it was available to let as self-catering accommodation for at least 140 nights and actually let for at least 70 in the previous 12 months. BCP Council has charged a 100% council tax premium on furnished second homes since April 2025, so for many owners the business rates route is worth keeping. Winter stays count as nights let, which can help a property that falls short of 70 on summer bookings alone. Council tax and second homes in BCP sets out the rules; confirm your own position with an accountant.

Check the lease and the mortgage

A residential mortgage may not allow letting at all, a buy-to-let mortgage may require a tenancy, and a holiday let mortgage may set its own conditions. Leases on cliff-top and harbour blocks often restrict short lets or set a minimum term. We ask to see the lease for a flat before the first booking. Speak to your lender or broker about the mortgage.

For tenants: what a winter let looks like

If you need a home for the winter, the group's apartments in Bournemouth are let for 28 nights or more with electricity, gas, water, fibre Wi-Fi, council tax, the TV licence, a parking space and a 24-hour gym included, and a standard cleaning and security deposit only. They are furnished with linen, towels, a full kitchen or kitchenette, and a washing machine and dishwasher where there is a kitchen. There is no fixed term: extend month by month or leave with notice. Book online at Flexiestays or send an enquiry. Long term lets describes the buildings, and our tenants hub covers renting more widely.

Where

Winter demand is strongest in central Bournemouth and on the cliffs, near the hospitals and the universities, and along the coast to Poole and Christchurch. Each town has its own page: winter lets in Bournemouth, in Poole and in Christchurch. Landlords can start at the landlords hub.