New laws governing short-term letting have progressed to the next stage despite last minute concerns being raised by some TDs on its impact on tourism.
Cabinet on Tuesday approved proposals to introduce a registration system for short-term lets in towns with a population of more than 10,000. It is scheduled to come into place in 2026.
What are the new rules governing short term lets?
Property owners offering accommodation for periods of up to and including 21 nights will need to be registered with Fáilte Ireland. These properties, advertised on sites like Airbnb, will need a valid registration number and Fáilte Ireland will monitor online platforms to ensure compliance with this.
These numbers will be linked to Eircodes, which will allow local authorities to more easily check if the properties have the correct planning permission for short-term letting.
Fáilte Ireland will be able to levy a €300 fixed penalty notice on property owners that advertise their property without a valid registration number. It will also have the option of bringing cases to the District Court where the maximum fine is up to €5,000.
Online platforms can be fined up to €5,000 for each listing of a property that does not have a valid registration number.
What rules are currently in place?
Short term letting regulations were first introduced in 2019 under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act. These regulations required owners in Rent Pressure Zones to seek planning permission to change their property into a short term let. However, enforcing this became an issue and this is reflected in the low number of planning applications compared to the scale of properties being advertised for short-term letting.
How will these new rules help ease the housing crisis?
According to Fáilte Ireland there are 32,000 short term lets advertised online in Ireland, and potentially 10,000 of those properties could be suitable for long term housing requirements.
It is hoped that this new legislation could help release those 10,000 homes back on to the long term housing market.
What concerns were raised about the new rules?
Minister for Children Norma Foley and fellow Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae – who is Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture – raised concerns about the impact it would have on tourism given it would ban short term lets used largely by visitors.
Government sources felt the application of the rules to just towns with 10,000 people or more allow smaller rural areas able to continue catering for short-term rentals.
However, some tourism hotspots such as Killarney, Co Kerry and Tramore, Co Waterford, have populations of more than 10,000.
Has the legislation been changed?
No, Minister for Tourism Peter Burke has confirmed no substantial changes have been made to the legislation. This includes the provision that the legislation will apply to towns with a population of more than 10,000.
