A new report has found no evidence linking increasing numbers of properties listed on Airbnb and falls in new tenancies in the wider rental market.
The study by the Economic and Social Research Institute says its findings do not mean that the short-term letting platform has not had a detrimental effects on the rental market in certain areas, but it did not appear to be the root cause of the drop in accommodation available for tenants.
It says there is a very strong correlation between current Airbnb listings and previously recorded holiday homes in rural areas, and lower correlation in urban areas.
It says it cannot be assumed that many of the short-term lets in non urban areas would be likely to switch to the private rental sector in the absence of Airbnb.
It adds that short-term property lettings are highly concentrated in tourist hotspots along the west coast, as well as in inner city Dublin and Galway city.
The report, funded by the Department of Housing, says Airbnb represents 10% of the rental market in 38 out of 166 local electoral areas.
The highest ratios in proportion to long-term lets are in key coastal tourist locations which typically have small rental sectors, as well as some larger coastal towns.
It represent one in three lettings Westport in Co Mayo, one in six in Killarney, Co Kerry, one in ten Dublin’s southeast inner city, one in 17 in the Dublin’s north inner city and one in 14 in Galway city centre.
The report says that Government measures to restrict the use of Airbnb may have discouraged some hosts but appears to have been “largely ineffective.”
It adds that the numbers which applied for either voluntary registration or change of use planning permission, which were 91 in 2023, were relatively small relative to the number of Airbnb listings of 9,142 in rent pressure zones.
The report says that international experience suggests that in the Irish case enforced regulations may not result in a movement of properties from the short-term letting sector to the wider rental sector but it says some localised effects may occur.
Airbnb ‘attractive option for landlords’
Research Officer with the ESRI, Dr Rachel Slaymaker, has said that the high number of short-term let properties in tourist areas are likely holiday homes, which may never have been considered for the rental sector.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Slaymaker said that Airbnb is an attractive option for landlords, as properties can be let for between 6-10 days a month to earn a similar revenue as they would in a month in the rental sector.
“We see very sizable concentrations in specific areas; we find at least one Airbnb for every ten rental sector properties in around 38 local electoral areas across the country, but typically these areas tend to be those with smaller rental sectors or more moderate sectors,” she said.
Dr Slaymaker said that the ESRI has not seen any evidence that there is any relationship between the falling numbers of new tenancy registrations in the rental sector and increases in the short-term letting sector.
“The increasing numbers of short-term lets have primarily been in tourist hotspots, but in these areas, we do see a really high correlation between current short-term let listings and previously recorded holiday homes,”
“I think it’s really important to think about where these properties are actually coming from, as to whether they’re likely to be having a huge impact in the rental sector in these areas.”
She added that the situation is likely to be different across the country.
“If we’re thinking about properties in the centre of Dublin, there’s likely to be quite a high crossover between the private rental sector and short-term lets, so we might expect a policy there might have some effect in bringing properties back to the rental sector,”
“But if we’re looking in these tourist destinations where many of these properties may never have actually been in the rental sector and may have been holiday homes for a long time or vacant otherwise, we might not expect that the same transfer back to towards the private rental sector and therefore we need to think carefully about sort of which policies are implemented in which areas.”
