Legislation on short-term lets to be brought to Cabinet

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

Legislation on short-term lets is to be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday by Minister for Housing, James Browne.

The legislation will introduce a register of short-term lets, such as Airbnbs, as part of new EU regulations that came into force in May.

Anyone offering paid accommodation for up to 21 nights will be required to register each unit they rent out with Fáilte Ireland, which could be an entire property or a room within a home.

Anyone applying to be on the register will have to declare that the space complies with statutory obligations, including planning permission when required.

There have been reports of disagreements at Cabinet over the legislation, including which areas it would apply to and the effect it would have on tourism-dependent communities.

A Housing Agency Report estimated through Airbnb data that there are 28,903 short-term lets in Ireland, with the cities representing about 40% of the national total.

Dublin accounts for 9,186 short-term lets, or 32 per cent of the total.

New planning permissions for short-term lets will not be needed in cities and towns with a population above 20,000, according to the most recent Census.

This includes Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Galway, and 20 large towns.

For residential properties that have been operated by a short-term let for at least seven years, and no enforcement action has been taken, planning permission for retention can be sought.