Holiday Cancellation now?

I thought children don’t count? But I may be wrong.

This is hard for you MummyJoJo. If you live in England the rules are six people only. In Scotland and Wales children under12/11 aren't counted in the six. So if each couple had 2 children that would be counted as 4 as younger children don't count.
Michael Gove this morning is adamant that it is six only whether adults or children in England.

I think it's in Scotland and Wales that children don't count but I may also be wrong!

Crossed posts AG

Is it likely the house would be relet if you cancelled? Also it may be that a cancellation is covered by the owners as they could be in trouble for allowing you to stay in breach of what is the law( not guidelines). I’d get in touch with them ( after reading their terms and conditions).

It won’t matter where the OP lives - the house is in England and covered by English law

The legal term is something like ‘frustration of contract’ - you’re not choosing not to go, you are frustrated in not being able to. I do realise it’s really disappointing ( it happened to me) but at least getting the money back helped ( or maybe transfer booking to next year?)

Simples: you rota it so one family goes for first half of the week, the other family for the second. It might not be what you had envisaged, but it is better than no holiday at all.
You've clearly booked it for a large group, so you would be found out if you all went.
The contract isn't actually frustrated suziewoozie. You're not prevented from going, you just cant have as many going. Alrhough you may have just been lucky to get a refund.
The house is still yours for that week.

They do in England but not in Wales or Scotland if they are 11 or under.
Is your booking with a firm which may have alternative accommodation elsewhere? Wales is lovely and perhaps marginally warmer than Scotland (sorry, Scottish gransnetters).

I do wish they'd get their act together.

This is from MSE.com - very reputable site.

What if I've booked a holiday for more than six people?

It's worth noting that the new rules won't affect single households or support bubbles of more than six people. So if you have a UK trip booked with just members of your household or support bubble, this should still be able to go ahead even if there are more than six of you.

But if your trip is for two households with more than six people in total, you now won't legally be able to gather or stay together in the UK – whereas previously, for example, two families of four would have been allowed to go on holiday together.

In this case, it's best to speak to your holiday accommodation provider and explain the situation, as some may offer flexibility or refunds. But if your holiday provider refuses, whether you're legally entitled to a full refund isn't entirely clear-cut.

When we asked the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about consumers' refund rights in this situation, it pointed us to guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which says that consumers should get a refund if they cancel or can't use a service because of Government health measures.

As the new six-person rule is a legal restriction (unlike the current rules on households staying together, which are guidelines) and consumers could face a fine if they break the law in order to use their holiday booking, the CMA guidance suggests they'd be owed a refund.

But it's important to note that CMA guidance isn't a definitive interpretation of the law, and this is a new scenario which hasn't been tested – so while you can point your holiday accommodation provider to the guidance, complain to the CMA or even pursue legal action, there are no guarantees as to what the outcome would be and whether you'd get a refund.

This situation is made more difficult by the fact that in some cases it could be possible for some consumers to make use of the bookings, for example, if six of the planned guests went on the trip.

Interesting suziewoozie.
We have just booked a house in Cornwall. The one we liked slept 10 and we asked the company to ask the owners if we could have a discounted rate for only 6 guests. They declined, which we quite understood.
The thing is you have to state the names of the guests on the booking forms, so they know how many will occupy the property. As I said above, a rota system could work for the OP. We will now be the main couple at the cottage where we will be staying but 2 people will visit us for 3 nights and 2 different people for 4 nights.

The thing is atm there are now many fewer groups of 10 that will be legal do you’d think the owners would be a bit more flexible. When I cancelled the agency went all coy about paying back my deposit ( I hadn’t paid the balance ) after they told me they’d relet it. However, I sorted that out and got it all back less the booking fee( which was quite fair) cheeky things.

Thanks everyone
This is such a depressing scenario and I really wish I knew the best way to deal with it
holidaying in two halves won't work in this case
Ho hum!! but thanks again.

MummyJoJo62 would I ‘risk it’ no, it’s breaking the law for a start.