What do the new short-term letting rules mean for property owners and renters?

Plans to regulate short-term letting (STL) in a bid to return Airbnb-style properties to the long-term rental sector are progressing, with legislation before the Dáil this week and the publication of new planning guidelines.

Q: What are the new rules for short-term lets?

A: Owners of short-term let properties will be required to register them with tourism body Fáilte Ireland under legislation that is before the Oireachtas. To be included, the properties must have planning permission to operate as STLs.

While such use already requires planning permission, the rules have previously been poorly enforced.

Planning authorities will have access to data on the new STL register, which will help inform them as to whether a planning permission enforcement investigation is needed.

Under new planning guidelines, in most instances planning permission will not be granted for new STL properties in towns and cities with populations of more than 20,000 people.

Q: This has been on the agenda for years, hasn’t it?

A: Yes. Plans for an STL register have been in the offing since the last Government. They have been the subject of much internal debate, with concern at the proposals among some ministers from counties with high levels of tourism.

The register was supposed to be up and running in May, but it emerged that month that it would be delayed until December.

At the time, the Department of Enterprise said ministers were trying to strike a balance between returning properties to the long-term residential market, while protecting rural economies that rely heavily on tourism.

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Previously, in February, it was decided planning restrictions on new STLs would only apply to urban areas with more than 20,000 people, as the Government abandoned a former plan to set a cap on towns with populations of more than 10,000.

The increased threshold means restrictions will apply in 25 urban areas including all cities and large towns like Drogheda, Dundalk, Swords, Navan, Bray and Ennis, but not smaller tourist towns like Killarney.

Q: Why are the new rules being brought in?

A: The Government hopes the new rules will encourage at least some STL property owners to return homes to the long-term rental market as part of efforts to ease the housing crisis.

Minister for Housing James Browne says the priority is to bring homes back into the rental market for people who want to live long term in a particular local area or in their own community.

“We have far too many full houses being let out on a short-term basis in areas when those same areas are experiencing serious housing shortages,” he said.

The establishment of the new register will also mean EU regulations on the collection and exchange of data on short-term rental services will have a direct application in national law.

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Q: How many homes could be returned to long- term use?

A report by Indecon for the Housing Agency indicates there are almost 17,000 properties being fully used for STL in areas of high housing demand. It estimated 5,500 to 9,500 of these could be brought back to long-term residential use.

Q: What will it mean for STL operators?

A: All STL operators will have to register with Fáilte Ireland before December 31st. The register opens on December 1st. STL operators will be required to provide information about themselves and the unit they are letting.

They will also need to provide a declaration that they are authorised to let the unit on a short-term basis, meaning the property has the necessary planning permission.

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Q: What if the property does not have planning permission?

A: In instances where an STL has been operating without planning permission and where no enforcement action was taken for seven years or more, the owners will have to make an application for retention planning permission.

In such circumstances there will be “a presumption in favour of granting planning permission” once the planning authority is satisfied, among other criteria, that the proposal would not result in a serious traffic hazard, or flooding or pollution risk.

Q: What if I want to start short-term letting?

A: Planning permission is not required for STL of a property in any instance where it is the applicant’s own home, and, either the host continues to live there or, if they are not present, it is let out for less than 90 days per year.

Planning permissions for STL use of non-primary residence properties in urban areas with more than 20,000 people will be restricted.

Permission may only be granted in limited circumstances, including where using a property for STL would facilitate the retention, reuse or preservation of a heritage building, or the STL unit will be in vacant upper floors of mixed use buildings.

But it must be in circumstances where the buildings may not be suitable for longer-term residential accommodation.

In towns of fewer than 20,000 people, the planning permission policy will be more amenable to consenting to STL use, and operators can avail of a two-year period to meet planning consenting requirements, all the while being allowed to register.