LAST UPDATE | 16 Jun

MANY SHORT-TERM LET operators will have to register on the Failte Ireland database in December this year, Housing Minister James Browne confirmed today. 

Bringing a memo to cabinet on Tuesday, the minister said the short-term let bill will be the strongest legislation on the issue in any country in Europe.

The government is planning a register of short-term lets, such as Airbnb’s, as part of new EU regulations that came into force in May.

Anyone offering paid accommodation for up to 21 nights will be required to register each unit they rent out with Fáilte Ireland, which could be an entire property or a room within a home.

So, how will it work? 

December deadline for some

If a person has a short-term let in an area of more than 20,000 population, they must register their property on the Failte Ireland register when it comes into operation on 1 December.

All operators will have a legal obligation to register by 31 December 2026.

To register their property they must be able to prove that they have planning permission for a short-term let. 

Anyone applying to be on the register will have to declare the space complies with statutory obligations. 

The memo brought today will effectively make it extremely difficult to operate as a short-term let in towns above 20,000 people due to the need for planning permission, the minister said today.

Currently, residents are allowed to let their house or apartment on a short-term basis for a cumulative period of up to 90 days per calendar year.

Where the 90-day threshold is exceeded, the property owners must apply for planning permission for change of use of the property.

Where the house or apartment is not a ‘principal private residence’, the 90-day exemption does not apply and change of use planning permission is required for all short-term lets. 

Under the new rules proposed, if you attempt to advertise a property for short-term let in an area with a population above 20,000, such as Dublin, after December, and you are not on the register and you do not have planning permission, the property owners will be “operating outside of the law” and will face enforcement action, according to the minister. 

He said there will be “very strict application” of the rules at the December deadline. 

Who are the property owners who get a two-year grace period? 

The housing minister said the two-year grace period only applies to those who have short-term lets in areas under a population size of 20,000, such as more rural towns and villages.

The minister said:

For those under 20,000, there will be a period where people can regulate themselves if they’ve been operating for less than seven years to get planning permission. 

Explaining why the government has opted for a two-year grace period, the minister said he wants to ensure the local authorities have the capacity to address those short term lets in rural areas, but higher populated areas are being brought into the net sooner. 

Those in the smaller regions will be able to register within those two years, but once those two years are up, property owners will either have obtained their planning permission or they will have to deregister.

“This is a grace period. You have two years for what is generally a 12-week process,” said the minister, who said the process will be streamlined for those who have operated a short-term let for seven years or longer so they can regularise their planning affairs. 

For residential properties that have operated a short-term let for more than seven years and no enforcement action has been taken, planning permission for retention can be sought.

Speaking on the way into cabinet today, Browne said that a “balance has to be struck” between residential needs and the importance of tourism to rural economises.  

There have been reports of disagreements at cabinet over the rules, including to which areas it would apply and the effect it would have on tourism-dependent communities.

A Housing Agency Report estimated through Airbnb data that there are 28,903 short-term lets in Ireland, with the cities representing about 40% of the national total.

Dublin accounts for 9,186 short-term lets, or 32% of the total.

Housing Minister James Browne says he expects local authorities and Failte Ireland to enforce the new short-term let rules.

He says he also expects platforms such as Airbnb to comply with the new regulations. pic.twitter.com/oGnpPwcEUJ

— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) June 16, 2026

Who is going to enforce the new system? 

Browne said he expects local authorities and Failte Ireland, which operates the short-term let register, to police the new system.

“What’s key here is partnership, and that Failte Ireland and the local authority are working together and sharing information,” he said.

He said the local authority is the planning authority, so they will be required to enforce planning laws.

Concerns have been raised about local authorities having the resources to enforce the new rules, but the government said it will ensure councils have the capacity needed. 

“For Faitle Ireland, the rule is very simple: they will not be able to put somebody on their platform who does not have planning permission to operate as a short term list, so their first port of call would be simply say ‘prove you have planning permission’. If you don’t, they’re not going on here,” said the housing minister, adding: 

Airbnb will have to comply with the law.

The minister said he expects local authorities and Failte Ireland to be very robust in actions against Airbnb, or any platform, that is facilitating illegal activity. 

How many properties could potentially be returned to the rental market? 

The housing minister said the suggestion that there are 24,000 properties advertised as short-term lets “is probably an underestimate”.

“I think the figure is actually much higher than the numbers in front of us,” he said. 

Browne acknowledged that there has been a serious challenge in terms of enforcement of short-term let legislation that is already in place, stating that the vast majority of short-term lets in the country right now are operating without the necessary planning permission. “Therefore, they’re outside of the law”, he said. 

What are the opposition saying? 

Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin said the government is watering down the long awaited short term letting planning regulations, stating that he is concerned over reports that those who have been operating for 7 years or more will have the opportunity to secure planning permission.

“This is yet another weakening of an already questionable regime,” he added.