Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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694. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will review the short-term rental sector with particular focus on compliance and enforcement in relation to existing regulations; and the number of properties currently available for short-term rental only by county. [40414/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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New legislative reforms to regulate the short-term letting sector through the planning code, in areas designated as “rent pressure zones” (RPZs), were introduced by my Department on 1 July 2019. In essence, the legislation requires home-sharers letting rooms in their principal private residence located within a RPZ, or letting the entire property subject to a maximum of 90 days per annum, to register with their local authority. Persons letting properties which are not their principal private residence are required to apply for change of use planning permission unless the property already has a specific planning permission to be used for tourism or short-term letting purposes. The short-term letting planning legislation does not regulate the online platforms which advertise such properties.

Local planning authorities are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the short-term letting planning arrangements. In data returns submitted to my Department to the end of Q1 2021, planning authorities reported that 1,320 properties had been registered as engaging in short-term letting activity in compliance with the legislation. Additionally, planning authorities identified 7,015 instances of properties potentially in breach of the short-term letting legislation since its introduction. Of these, 894 individual cases have been resolved to the satisfaction of planning authorities through registration of properties, obtaining planning permission, or the ceasing of short-term letting operations. The table below provides a breakdown of this information by local authority. It should be noted that the figures for the total number of properties identified as potentially in breach of the short-term letting legislation are cumulative and may include properties that were identified in multiple quarterly returns.

My Department does not maintain data regarding the number of properties engaged in short-term letting activity outside of RPZs and/or further to a specific planning permission enabling it to engage in such activity. 

The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future includes the specific action to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement mechanisms with regard to short-term letting, and the ongoing approach in this regard is currently being considered. However, as some elements of potential regulation of the short-term letting market fall outside the remit of my Department, I have been in contact with my colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on this matter. Meetings have taken place at senior official level between the two Departments, which have also involved the participation of Fáilte Ireland, to explore the possibilities of developing new proposals in relation to the regulation of the short-term letting sector.

Further meetings at official level are scheduled in the coming weeks after which it is hoped to submit a Memorandum for Government on this matter in due course.