Dublin City Council has this year to date issued approximately 300 statutory warning letters to property owners engaged in the alleged unauthorised use of short term rental of their properties to tourists and visitors to the capital.
The clampdown against those property owners placing their properties on platforms such as Airbnb and booking.com, is the first step planning authorities have taken in the way of enforcement actions.
A spokesman for the Council said today: “To-date since the initiation of the Short Term Letting legislation in July 2019, a successful resolution has been achieved in respect of 1,996 cases, these cases have been resolved and closed following the commencement of and compliance with enforcement requirements.”
Property owners who do seek to regularise their activity through planning retention applications face an uphill struggle in securing further planning retention for their short-term letting.
This arises from a policy in the Dublin City Development Plan where there is a general presumption against the provision of dedicated short term tourist rental accommodation in the city due to the impact on the availability of housing.
Asked to comment on the Council issuing the 300 letters concerning the unauthorised use of short-term lettings to date this year, a spokeswoman for Failte Ireland said:
“Short-term letting (STL) accommodation is an important part of the overall tourist accommodation mix, helping to ensure we have offerings that cater to the different needs of visitors.
“However, for communities to thrive, there must be a balanced mix of long-term private rental and short-term letting accommodation for tourists,” the spokeswoman added.
Fáilte Ireland has been tasked with the establishment and maintenance of a statutory register of short-term letting accommodation in the State.
STL hosts offering accommodation for periods up to and including 21 nights will be obliged to register with Fáilte Ireland, confirm their compliance with planning requirements and hold a valid registration number that must be displayed on their STL listings.
The data collected from Fáilte Ireland on STL listing “will be shared with local authorities to support their role in enforcement of planning requirements for short-term lets.”
The spokeswoman said that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, will set out the planning guidance for short-term lets in a National Planning Statement “and will progress any necessary legislative changes to implement the new planning requirements”.
Reporting by Gordan Deegan
