Short-term letting platforms to face huge fines if they allow people without planning permission to advertise

New laws being introduced by the Government will introduce an administrative sanction of up to 2% of their turnover for companies that break the rules, significantly higher than previously proposed levies

New restrictions will also bar new planning permissions from being granted for short-term rentals in towns with more than 20,000 people.

Short-term letting platforms could face massive fines if they allow people without planning permission to advertise holiday homes on their websites.

New laws being introduced by the Government will introduce an administrative sanction of up to 2% of their turnover for companies that break the rules.

A spokesperson for enterprise minister Peter Burke confirmed there would be financial penalties included in the new bill.

The spokesperson added an expert panel would be appointed to “determine if a contravention of the legal obligations occurred and the appropriate fine”.

If a platform is found to breach these rules, the panel will write to them and give them 28 days to appeal to the High Court to contest the fine.

These fines are heavier than what had been proposed by the previous Government, where then tourism minister Catherine Martin said platforms could be hit with penalties of €5,000 for rule breaches.

The most recent data from Airbnb outlines a global revenue of $2.7bn (€2.35bn) in Q1 2026, up 17% year-on-year.

This means a fine of 2% of its turnover would be significantly higher than the previously proposed levies.

The bill itself, known as the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill, will introduce new rules around holiday stay housing, including introducing a new register to be operated by Fáilte Ireland.

To access this register, a short-term lessor will be required to have planning permission for their property.

New restrictions will also bar new planning permissions from being granted for short-term rentals in towns with more than 20,000 people.

This will stop new short-term lets in places like Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, alongside a further 20 towns.

While these restrictions will be introduced, housing minister James Browne confirmed there would be a two-year grace period introduced to allow people to regularise their affairs.

The proposed law will also include a grandfathering rule. If a property is proven to operate for more than seven years without action being taken, individuals will be permitted to regularise their short-term let with retention planning permission.

Speaking last week, Mr Browne said about 24,000 properties were being advertised on short-term letting websites, which he said was an “underestimate”.

“What we also suspect is that where perhaps in an apartment block, someone is advertising one property, they have maybe five or six behind it,” he said.

Draft research, carried out by consultants Indecon, suggests there are 28,903 short-term lets in Ireland. About 40% of those are in cities, with Dublin accounting for 9,186 short-term lets.

The housing minister said there was a “serious challenge” on the enforcement of existing rules around short-term lets, adding while there was a requirement for planning permission, many people were operating without it.

The Irish Examiner contacted both Airbnb and Booking.com for comment on the prospect of fines, but none was received.