Ireland's Short-Term Rental Rules: 90-Day Limit, Planning Permission, and Tourism Conflict

Ireland's short-term rental market, particularly in tourist hubs like Galway and Dublin, faces scrutiny due to its impact on housing availability and affordability. Landlords often prefer short-term rentals via platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com, as they can generate significantly more income than long-term leases. This trend has exacerbated Ireland's housing crisis, leading to a conflict between the tourism and housing sectors.

Over a decade ago, Ireland introduced rules similar to those in other European cities, such as Paris and London, limiting short-term rentals to 90 days per year. Exceeding this limit requires planning permission. However, these regulations have largely gone unenforced, allowing many properties to be converted from long-term rentals to more lucrative short-term holiday lets without penalty.

Government efforts to enforce these rules have been met with political resistance, particularly from rural TDs whose constituencies rely heavily on tourism. Initially, stricter rules were proposed for areas with populations over 10,000, but this threshold was raised to 20,000 following objections from backbenchers like Michael Healy-Rae, whose Killarney constituency is a major tourist destination. This change exempts most tourist towns from the stricter regulations.

The revised rules, which may lead to planning permission denials in high-pressure housing markets like Dublin, are expected to cause further disputes. Given the decade-long non-enforcement, there is uncertainty whether these regulations will be fully implemented or remain largely disregarded.