Rental Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2024

Tuesday, 30 January 2024

Questions (327)

Ivana Bacik

Question:

327. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department maintain figures of the amount of short-term rental properties and private rooms that have come onto the long-term rental market since the introduction of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 and supplementary regulation Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 235 of 2019); if so, the amount of properties and private rooms; the amount of properties that were sold following the introduction of the regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3835/24]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The introduction of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 and the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) were aimed at addressing the impact on the private rental market by the use of residential homes for short term tourism type letting in areas of high housing demand. The provisions aimed to return much needed housing supply from the short-term letting sector back to the long-term rental market and apply in areas designated as “rent pressure zones” (RPZs) under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended.

Local planning authorities are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the short-term letting planning arrangements and submit quarterly data returns to my Department. However, these returns do not include the numbers of short-term rental properties and private rooms that have come onto the long-term rental market since the introduction of the Regulations or the number of short-term rental properties that have been sold since the introduction of the Regulations.