Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 July 2020
44. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to introduce a new planning offence and fine for short-term letting platforms and estate agents that advertise short-term lets which are not compliant with the planning permission requirements of the existing short-term letting regulations. [17631/20]
View answerLegislative changes (Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019) were introduced last year in relation to the regulation of short-term letting sector through the planning code to help address its impact on the supply of private rented accommodation, particularly in urban centres of high housing demand i.e. rent pressure zones. The planning system facilitates the regulation of such short-term letting uses undertaken by the individual carrying out the activity, i.e. the owner/occupier of the house or apartment, rather than the online platforms.
Under this Short-Term Letting legislation applicable in rent pressure zones:
- Short term letting is defined as the letting of a house or apartment, or part of a house or apartment, for any period not exceeding 14 days.
- Homesharing (the letting of a room or rooms in a person’s principal private residence) continues to be permissible on an unrestricted basis and is exempted from the new planning requirements.
- Homesharers are allowed to sub-let their entire principle private residence (house or apartment) on a short term basis for a cumulative period of
- 90 days where they are temporarily absent from their home.
- Where the 90 day threshold is exceeded, change of use planning permission is required.
If a person homeshares their principal private residence in a rent pressure zone and wishes to avail of the new planning exemptions, they need to register this with their local planning authority and fulfil specified reporting obligations.
However, where a person owns a property in a rent pressure zone which is not their principal private residence and intends to let it for short term letting purposes, s/he is required to apply for a change of use planning permission unless the property already has a specific planning permission to be used for tourism or short-term letting purposes.
The broader regulation of tourism activity, including the possible development of a new regulatory or licensing/registration system for commercial platforms and short-term letting agents, was recommended in the final Working Group report on the regulation of short-term letting. The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future includes the specific action to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement mechanisms with regard to short-term lettings, and the approach in this regard will be considered over the coming months. Though some elements of potential regulation may be outside the remit of my Department, I look forward to engaging with my cabinet colleagues on how best this issue can be tackled jointly.
