Kerry County Council goes door to door to tackle tourist lets

Maura Healy-Rae said 'it is not a level playing pitch.' Picture: Don MacMonagle

Kerry County Council planning officials are calling door-to door to warn the county's property owners not to let houses to tourists, a public meeting in Killarney has heard.

One property owner, located 11km from Killarney, told the meeting organised by the Irish Self-Catering Federation she had been letting a property on a farm and had a visit last week from a planning enforcement officer, telling her to stop.

A second woman said the enforcement officer said if she did not stop letting to tourists, she would be fined €300

The crackdown on “short-term letting” in rent pressure zones comes on the back of Government legislation aimed at freeing up more properties for long-term renting, to help ease the housing crisis.

Killarney was designated a rent pressure zone two years ago and is now one of 50 such zones across the country. The legislation allows for fines of €5,000 and up to €1,500 per week, ISCF’s Máire Ní Mhurchú said.

Despite rising demand for self-catering facilities, holiday property owners are now unsure if they will be able to operate in 2023 because of the crackdown on rent pressure zones, the meeting was told. 

Warning letters 

More than 200 warning letters have been sent to those advertising holiday homes to tourists in Killarney. Just one has received planning to continue, and three or four were likely to be allowed continue, the meeting heard.

The crackdown in Kerry was not proportionate with other counties, said Ms Ní Mhurchú, who argued "Those in business already should be allowed continue in business."

At the same time, medium-priced and budget hotels in Killarney — traditionally used by families holidaying in the town — have been converted into refugee and direct provision centres and are thus closed to tourists. 

It is also uncertain if self-catering properties currently being occupied by Ukrainian refugees will be available for the 2023 tourist season.

Killarney as a tourist destination “will die a slow death” with nobody able to stay, the meeting heard. One woman said:

Ordinary people cannot afford the five-star hotels. The ordinary people of Ireland will not be able to come to Killarney.

Kerry County Council recently confirmed enforcement proceedings were being taken against 56 short-term property owners in Killarney. 

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the council said they were doing their job in enforcing Government legislation, and property owners had been warned.

Lisa Argue of Dream Ireland holiday home letting agency in Kenmare said there was great uncertainty for the industry in 2023, as many self-catering villages in Kenmare and elsewhere were now let to refugees. 

Hoteliers were exempt from having to apply for planning to become direct provision centres, yet families letting a house to tourists for years were being targeted, said Cllr Maura Healy-Rae, one of two Killarney councillors to attend the meeting at the Gleneagle Hotel on Monday night.

“It is not a level playing pitch,” Ms Healy-Rae said.

The move to blame small landlords and tourist operators for the housing crisis and forcing them out of business had “devastating consequences,” for tourist-dependent Killarney, Cllr Brendan Cronin said.

“There is unfortunately an enthusiasm to make pariahs out of people short-term letting,” he said.