Why some accommodation hosts believe that bolting planning requirements to a new short-term letting bill will damage Irish tourism, writes Pavel Barter for H&R Times
Short term accommodation hosts fear new legislation could adversely affect tourism and put them out of business. The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill, published October 6 by Peter Burke, Minister for Tourism – requires people letting a property for short-term stays to register with Fáilte Ireland and obtain planning permission.
Worried, concerned, terrified
Vagaries around the detail and timeframe for implementation of the law have made rural businesses “absolutely terrified,” according to Michael Collins, a TD in Cork South West. “I’ve had numerous meetings, packed rooms of people not knowing are they going to be in operation. They’re not one bit fearful of regulation. It’s the planning aspect of the Bill is the worry for them.”
H&R Times spoke to a number of hospitality representatives who echoed the TD’s concerns. “Our members are getting in contact with me, worried and concerned that their businesses are going to close,” said Thomas Emmet of Historic Houses of Ireland.
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Chief Executive of Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) fears the legislation could result in the loss of hundreds of short-term let properties around the country. “We don’t have an adequate number of hotel stock in rural areas. If you lose short-term lets in that area, the whole area loses bed space for tourism. There are serious consequences if we get it wrong.”
Must be registered and planning compliant
The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill is intended to force more properties into long-term use to alleviate the housing crisis. The register, which applies to businesses offering paid accommodation for up to 21 nights, opens December 1, 2026. Hosts are required to register by December 31, 2026. Accommodation providers in areas of under 20,000 in population are granted a two-year period to become planning compliant. There is a presumption not to grant planning in places with populations of over 20,000. All rental properties in these more densely populated areas must be registered and planning compliant by December 31.
According to Darragh O’Brien, Ireland’s Minister for Housing, there are 28,903 short-term lets available in Ireland and Dublin accounts for 32% of the total. But regional operators believe they are unfairly marginalised by the legislation. “They are making a rule for the country based on an issue in Dublin,” noted Maire Ni Mhurchu, CEO of the Irish Self-Catering Federation (ISCF). “We are the second largest provider of tourism beds in Ireland. Hotels are over 90% occupancy level on average. We don’t have over 90% occupancy in short-term rental but our market consists of multi-generational families, couples, small groups, who will often stay in an area for longer than if they stayed in a hotel. This is going to seriously reduce the number of tourists in rural Ireland.”
The Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) welcomed the legislation. A spokesperson told H&R Times, the Bill “will put in place robust regulation of short-term letting – delivering greater transparency and more uniform oversight, including the creation of a register to be managed by Fáilte Ireland.” None of the accommodation providers we spoke to have issues with the registration. Eoghan O’Mara Walsh described the register as bringing “transparency to a sector which is for too long operated in the grey zone.” Maire Ni Mhurchu of ISCF also described it as positive, but the connection of short-term rental to planning? “That’s where things get messy,” she said.
The National Planning Statement, which will dictate planning requirements for short term letting outlets, has yet to be published. So, there is no way to know what properties will be allowed, or refused, space on the register. “That is hugely problematic,” said O’Mara Walsh. We’ve been urging government to publish the planning guidelines as soon as possible.”
There could be a serious loss of stock in the Irish industry
Meanwhile, the December 31 deadline is ticking closer. Businesses will need to complete a planning application and send it to their local authority where a planning officer will process it. All this in December: one of the busiest times of the year for tourism operators. Maire Ni Mhurchu is blunt in her appraisal. “It is an absolute mess of a situation,” she told us. “It is something which should be very straightforward. The timeline is bonkers. We think there could be a serious loss of stock in the Irish industry.”
Industry representatives worry planning departments could become overwhelmed. “The last time we met the Department of Housing they advised us they are 50 per cent understaffed in local area planning offices,” said Ni Mhurchu. “They are going to be completely overwhelmed by applications from people if they are going to try and meet the deadline.”
ITIC has called for local authorities to be given more time – “three months to six months” – to process applications. “Planning departments are already stretched,” said O’Mara Walsh. “If they get an influx of thousands of planning applications in the run-up to December, and have to turn them all around by December 31st, it’s not going to happen.”
Hosts in areas of under 20,000 population will have two years to become compliant and “there will be a presumption in favour of granting planning permission for short-term letting where a dwelling has been used continuously for this purpose for at least seven years, and no enforcement action was taken,” according to a spokesperson for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE). However, some hospitality providers fear they will either not be applicable for planning or requirements will come at a hefty cost.
A harsh blow for historic structures
Historic Houses of Ireland, a registered charity which represents privately and publicly owned architectural estates across Ireland, is one such entity. Thomas Emmet describes the legislation as a harsh blow for historic structures. “Our members’ costs are already quite high in terms of restoration. Tourism accommodation is how many of them survive and keep themselves afloat. It funds roof repairs, conservation, and insurance premiums.”
The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill intends to combat the housing crisis. Yet historic properties are rarely deemed suitable for long-term housing stock. Thomas Emmet believes his members should be exempted from the Bill’s planning aspects. “Ice houses, gate lodges, farmhouses, don’t tend to be used for long-term letting. An exemption would make sense because historic houses, which are open to the public, provide community benefit across a wide range of accommodation or experience: museums, playgrounds, etc. If we’re going to value heritage, we need to stop bringing in legislation that adversely affects heritage.”
Calls for derogations for other businesses
There are calls for derogations for other businesses. Michael Collins, Cork South West TD wants leniency for accommodators in rural areas. “Many of these businesses have been around for 20, 30, 40 years now, and this was never an issue. There was a little bit of an income to put children through school and now they’re facing being wiped out.”
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh stated that “blocks of Airbnb apartments in Dublin City Centre, by all means, should not be on the register. They should be returned to long-term housing. But bona fide tourism operators who have traded for years should be allowed to continue to trade.”
The Department of Enterprise told H&R Times there will be no exceptions: “Excluding categories of accommodation (such as Historic Houses of Ireland) would create gaps in the data and undermine these objectives.” Yet without the National Planning Statement in place, the route to these objectives is murky at best. ITIC attributes the uncertainty to two government departments working independently on the issue: DETE on short term letting legislation; the Department of Housing on planning guidelines. “The Department of Housing, frankly, don’t understand tourism issues,” said O’Mara Walsh.
Thomas Emmet of Historic Houses of Ireland added: “The tying together of planning permission and tourism means that government departments who normally work in a siloed manner are having to work together, which can cause confusion. I wouldn’t have tied this to planning permission. We’ve had short-term lettings [amongst our membership] for decades and we haven’t needed them to be planning compliant. While I respect the legislation is supposed to solve the housing crisis, it has inadvertent side effects.”
Hoteliers unanimous in support for bill
Hoteliers, on the other hand, are unanimous in their support for the Bill. “It is an important development in helping to create a more level playing field for tourism accommodation providers, including hotels,” said a IHF representative. “We support fair competition in terms of taxation, commercial rates and other regulations which should apply equally to all tourism accommodation providers. A major benefit will be in relation to the residential market, which has been negatively impacted by the use of housing for short-term visitor lets.”
ITIC calls for extension of the registration window
The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation has called for an extension of the registration window “to allow property owners time to complete their planning application and give the local authorities time to actually turn them around.” But, for now, the Bill is proceeding through the legislative process in the Oireachtas and the register will open through Fáilte Ireland on December 1, 2026.
“We need a register for short-term rental,” concluded Maire Ni Mhurchu. “We also need clarity. But Ireland is the only place in the EU where they have bolted on a planning requirement to short term letting law.”
