Rental availability hampered by post-pandemic return of properties to Airbnb

From September 1, online platforms will not be able to advertise short-term lets in in rent pressure zones that do not have the requisite planning permission. File picture: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty

The return of properties to the short-term letting market, such as Airbnb, after the lifting of pandemic restrictions has “significantly diminished” the availability of private rental accommodation “once again”.

This, in turn, has helped to drive rents even higher on those properties still available in the rental market, according to the Department of Housing.

It has published a regulatory impact analysis as part of new legislation aimed at strengthening controls in the short-term letting market.

New rules from next month

The new law means that, from September 1, online platforms will not be able to advertise properties in rent pressure zones which do not have the requisite planning permission.

It also means that second homes shall not be advertised or be able to accept bookings on online platforms for short-term lets for a period of six months without the necessary planning permission in place.

The minister can require the owner of such properties to produce evidence of planning compliance as certified by a planning authority, or an exemption from same, to confirm they are entitled to advertise it as a short-term let.

This piece of legislation, signed into law in late July, was one of those criticised as being “rushed through” the Oireachtas by the Government prior to the end of the Dáil term.

In its analysis, the Department of Housing said that the “vast majority of properties operating in the short-term rental sector are doing so without the necessary planning permission in place, contrary to statutory requirements”.

It noted there had been significant issues with regulating short-term lets through the planning system, such as difficulty in establishing and proving ownership of properties and proving to a “sufficient legal standard” that properties are engaged in short-term letting. It said: 

As a result, only a small number of court prosecutions have been secured to date. 

Across Dublin’s four local authorities, where a significant proportion of the country’s short-term letting accommodation is located, only 22 applications for change of use planning permission were made from 2019 onwards.

Prior to a new online registration system from Fáilte Ireland for short-term lets being rolled out next year, this interim measure is aimed at alleviating the “acute and increasing shortage of long-term private rental accommodation that is available for the indigenous population in the areas of highest housing demand”, the department said.

“As outlined, this situation has been further exacerbated by the recent influx of Ukrainian citizens over the last few months, which is expected to further increase in the coming months,” it added.

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The department said it hopes the law will increase the number of properties on the long-term private residential rental market in high-demand areas. It called the measures a “significant tightening up” of current provisions as online platforms will be required to have had sight of evidence of planning compliance to advertise properties. It said non-compliance with these provisions will be an offence for both property owners and the online platforms.

According to CSO figures, private rents in Ireland rose 12.9% in the year to July. Recent reports have pointed to a dearth of available accommodation across the country.

The Government has pointed to a strong supply pipeline coming onstream, but activity in Ireland’s construction sector has fallen in recent months.