Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 3, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 3A of Principal Act

2.Section 3A of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1):

“(1A) A person shall not, during the relevant period, advertise or cause the advertisement of a relevant property for short term letting purposes, or enter into any arrangement in respect of a relevant property for short term letting purposes, unless the use of the relevant property for those purposes—

(a) is in accordance with a permission granted under Part III, or

(b) is exempted development for the purposes of this Act.

(1B) A person who contravenes subsection (1A) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a class A fine.

(1C) A person shall be deemed not to have contravened subsection (1A) in respect of a relevant property if the person produces proof, provided by a planning authority in accordance with regulations made under subsection (2), of the matters set out in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection in respect of the relevant property.

(1D) The relevant period may, by order of the Minister made before the expiry of that period, be extended for such period (being a period not exceeding 6 months) as is specified in the order.

(1E) An order under subsection (1D) shall be made by the Minister where he or she is satisfied that it is necessary in order to address an acute shortage of rental accommodation (other than for short term letting purposes) in rent pressure zones.

(1F) An order under subsection (1D) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each such House.”,

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) For the purposes of this section, the Minister may make regulations—

(a) requiring such persons as are specified in the regulations to provide a planning authority with such information as may be specified and at such intervals as may be so specified in relation to short term lettings in the administrative area of the planning authority, and

(b) requiring a planning authority to provide to such persons as are specified in the regulations such proof of the matters set out in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1A) in respect of a relevant property as may be specified in the regulations.”,

and

(c) by the insertion of the following definitions in subsection (5):

“ ‘relevant period’ means the period of 6 months commencing on the day following the commencement of section 2of the Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Act 2022;

‘relevant property’ means a house or part of a house that is not a principal private residence and is located in a rent pressure zone.”.”.

This amendment relates to the short-term letting provisions in section 3A of the principal Act which are aimed at strengthening the pre-existing regulatory controls in regard to short-term letting. In this correction the Government recognises the issue of a significant number of properties that have been withdrawn from the long-term rental market in recent years that have instead been diverted to use in short-term lettings. This has had significant negative impacts on the supply and availability of private residential rental accommodation, especially in RPZs which are urban areas of highest housing demand, with further knock-on implications for rental prices in these areas. This trend has been facilitated in particular by the use of online platforms. We need to get more properties in the long-term private rental market to help meet demand and the accommodation shortage in this area, specifically in RPZs which, as I have indicated, are the urban areas of highest housing demand. These pressures on the private rental sector have been further exacerbated by the recent and likely future arrival of large numbers of people fleeing from Ukraine into the State who are in need of medium- and long-term accommodation.

This amendment essentially proposes that for an initial six-month period, which period may be extended for a further six months subject to positive resolutions by both Houses of the Oireachtas, non-principal private residences in RPZs shall not be advertised or accept bookings on online platforms or other media for short-term letting purposes without the necessary planning permission for such use being put in place in respect of the property concerned or the property concerned being otherwise exempted. The amendment further gives the Minister regulation-making powers to require the owners of short-term letting properties or their nominated agents to provide evidence of planning compliance as certified by the planning authority or exemption from same for the purpose of confirming entitlement to advertise a non-principal private residence located in an RPZ and on an online platform or other media.

We will be looking at regulations to resolve the issue Deputy Matthews raised regarding the planning permission number. In addition, the amendment proposes that non-compliance with these provisions shall be an offence for both individual property owners concerned and the online platforms or other media who facilitate the advertising of non-principal private residences in RPZs. Offences for non-compliance with the provisions will, in each individual case, be subject to a class A fine under the planning Act, that is, up to €5,000 or six months in prison or both, with a further possibility of a fine of up to €1,500 per day in each day the offence continues.

It is my intention that, further to the supplementary regulations to be made subsequent to the enactment of this Bill, the new arrangements in regard to the advertising of non-principal private residences in RPZs will apply from 1 September next, which commencement shall be confirmed by way of commencement order to be signed further to the enactment of this Bill. I have outlined these new regulatory controls in the short-term letting sector will be in place for an initial period of six months during which time it is envisaged that the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Fáilte Ireland will work towards the establishment of a new registration system for short-term letting properties, as committed to in Housing for All and with a view to ensuring homes are used to best effect in the areas of highest housing need. However, should there be any delay in the establishment of the new Fáilte Ireland registration system, it will be possible to extend the provisions proposed in this amendment for a further six-month period subject to a positive resolution by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

In regard to enforcement of the new provisions, the new rules should be much more straightforward to enforce than the pre-existing 2019 provisions. In this connection, the online platforms will be required to associate an indicator with each property advertised on their platforms to confirm they are planning-compliant. It should be relatively easy for the planning authorities to check from their own planning records whether these indicators are valid and without the need to inspect the properties concerned. Where the indicators are not valid or where properties are advertised without the necessary indicators, enforcement action can be pursued against individual property owners concerned as well as the online platforms advertising the properties concerned.

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