New laws targeting short-term lets were expected to be discussed by the Cabinet committee on housing on Monday in an effort to bring more long term housing back on to the rental market. The legislation was delayed by the European Commission while it sought to agree short term let regulations across the European Union. That blockage now appears to be lifted and the Government here can press on with its Bill. What are the new rules, and could they help ease the housing shortage here?
Why was the legislation delayed?
The general scheme of the Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill was first approved by government and published in December 2022. It provided for a short-term tourist letting register which would be run by Fáilte Ireland. It was hoped these new rules would free up some 10,000 homes for the long-term housing market. However, the European Commission imposed a standstill period on the progress of the Bill while it worked to agree short-term rental regulation on an EU-wide level. The EU Short Term Rental (STR) Regulation was adopted in April 2024 and is applicable from May 20th, 2026. Following this, the Irish legislation was revised and renamed the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill, which is what the Cabinet committee on housing discussed on Monday. It is hoped that this new Bill can now proceed to the drafting stage and eventually be enacted here.
[ Short-term letting proposals will squeeze tourist beds, industry chiefs warnOpens in new window ]
What are the new rules governing short-term lets?
While we have yet to see this revised version of the Bill published, we can be guided by the previous version. Under this planned legislation property owners offering accommodation for periods of up to and including 21 nights will need to be registered with Fáilte Ireland. These properties 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.
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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 with the scale of properties being advertised for short-term letting.
How does Ireland fix its dysfunctional rental sector?
When will the new rules come into effect?
The legislation has a number of hoops to jump through first before enactment, so it is unclear when we will see this go live. The general scheme of the Bill will require Government approval before it can be drafted and work its way through legislative processes.
How will these new rules help ease the housing crisis?
According to Fáilte Ireland there are some 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.
