Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under action 18 of the strategy for the rental sector, my Department established a working group involving representatives of all major public stakeholders with a policy interest in short-term lettings to develop guidance in respect of planning applications and changes of use relating to short-term lettings and to examine the need for new regulatory arrangements. The proposals under consideration by the working group, which has met on six occasions to date, have been aimed at facilitating short-term letting of accommodation within permanent residences, known as home sharing, while protecting the existing stock of residential property in areas of high demand, safeguarding neighbourhood amenity and consumer protection, and generating revenue to address any negative externalities of short-term letting. The working group completed guidance for local authorities on planning applications relating to short-term lettings and my Department issued a circular on the matter last October. The group has since been focused on developing proposals for an appropriate comprehensive regulatory approach for short-term tourism-related lettings.

Having considered the group's report, as well as the recommendations in the Oireachtas joint committee's report on short-term lettings, I am engaging with other relevant Ministers on the appropriate next steps in taking the proposed regulatory regime forward. Among the options under consideration are the development of a new licensing regime for short-term letting platforms and homeowners who rent out rooms or entire properties to tourists to facilitate a more managed approach to short-term tourist lettings, and protect the existing stock of residential property, in particular long-term rental accommodation, in areas of high demand. Recognising that the introduction of such a regulatory regime will take time, I am also considering what other measures might, in the interim, support the recommendations and objectives set down in both the working group's report and that of the Oireachtas committee.

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