Government to bring forward its own legislation to tackle Airbnb

Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing Eoin Ó Broin brought his short-term lettings bill to the Dáil on Tuesday. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

The Government has not opposed the progress of a Sinn Féin bill which would fine Airbnb and estate agents if the homes they advertise for short-term rents do not have planning permission.

However, Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien has indicated that he will bring forward his own legislation in the area.

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin brought his short-term lettings enforcement bill to the Dáil on Tuesday evening, saying that while the bill would not be a "silver bullet", it is "not acceptable that anyone profits" from not adhering to guidelines.

Under the existing rules brought in in 2019, homeowners can rent out their homes for 90 days in a year, but not for more than 14 consecutive days at any one time. 

Anyone who goes beyond this cap should apply to their local authority for change of use permission, which would turn the property into a short-term rental as its primary function. 

However, Mr Ó Broin said that these guidelines are not being enforced and his bill would ensure spot fines could be issued.

Planning Minister Peter Burke said the bill is "well-intentioned" but said that it would not achieve what it sets out to do as the Government has a plan in train. 

He said that Fáilte Ireland will operate a regime inspecting short-term lets in a way that is somewhat similar to Mr Ó Broin's bill. He said that the Government plan would "go further" than Sinn Féin's plan.

However, he said that the spot fine idea would be "out of step" with current laws across the board and "such a departure would not be justified".

Cork North-Central TD Thomas Gould said that in Cork, there were 1,432 listings on Airbnb and just 76 long-term rental ads on Daft.ie. 

For its part, a spokesperson for Airbnb said that "the majority of hosts are regular Irish families who typically share their home for around three nights a month, and over a third say the additional income is an economic lifeline".

The company added that a popular social media account tracking numbers of rentals "uses a flawed methodology and scraped data to make misleading claims about the impact of Airbnb on local housing".

Meanwhile, the Oireachtas Housing Committee heard that housing projects that were “marginally viable” six months ago for construction contractors to bid for are now no longer viable and putting off companies tendering for them.

This is because of soaring inflation which is putting up construction costs and creating an uncertain environment for companies to operate in according to James Benson, the director of the Irish Home Builders Association.

The Oireachtas Housing Committee heard submissions from a number of stakeholders involved in house building in Ireland, where it was warned that Government targets for new homes could be missed due to the problems within the sector at present.

Kevin James, from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, said that urgent action is needed by Government to address the costs of construction to help ensure key projects are delivered.

He said there was no one action that would provide a solution, but Government intervention in a number of areas could have a “cumulative impact” that would be positive.