BOOKING.COM SAYS SHORT-TERM let operators will need between nine months to a year to become compliant under the new short-term letting rules.
New short-term letting regulations got approval by government last week, with Enterprise Minister Peter Burke stating that 20 May 2026 is still the deadline the government is working towards for the new rules to kick in.
It is understood the Department of Housing will issue a planning statement and also give operators some time to regularise their planning, putting a question mark over when the new rules will actually be put into action.
The short-term let Bill aims to establish a register which aims to enforce a requirement, introduced in 2019, for property owners to obtain change of use planning permission to let out entire houses and apartments on platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com when they are located in rent pressure zones.
Anyone letting a property, or bedrooms in a home, for periods of 21 nights or fewer will have to register with Fáilte Ireland under the planned new legislation.
Once the register is in place, officials will be able to identify where the short-term letting properties are as online platforms will have to provide monthly reports for any area with a registration procedure.
Booking.com before committee
Fiona MacConnacher, Public Affairs for Ireland and the UK at Booking.com Oireachtas.ie
Oireachtas.ie
Appearing before an Oireachtas committee today, Fiona MacConnacher, Public Affairs for Ireland and the UK at Booking.com, called for the National Planning Statement on Short Term Lets to be published, stating that the timeline is very tight for short-term let business owners to become compliant.
“By 20 May 2026, a new registration system must be fully operational, and under Irish Government proposals properties will be required to be planning compliant on that date to be included on the register,” she said.
“Operators still do not know with certainty what planning rules will apply in their
area and [there is] no guarantee that they will be able to continue operating their business,” she said.
She said that for many small operators, particularly in rural and coastal destinations, they are facing an almost impossible challenge.
“There is a serious risk that a significant share of existing stock will fall out of compliance or be forced to cease operating, not because operators are unwilling to comply, but because the system is too complex and the compliance window too short.
“This raises genuine concerns for both operators and travellers, especially given how close these changes are to the peak summer season in Ireland,” said MacConnacher.
Other representatives for the self-catering and short-term let industry told the committee that the transition period is definitely needed, stating that the May date is too tight a timeline, despite the new regulations being flagged by government over a year ago.
MacConnacher went on to say that there is now uncertainty for visitors travelling to Ireland this peak season, due to the lack of clarity around the new regulations.
“Crucially, there is no evidence that properties exiting the short‐term lets market will enter the long‐term rental market. A long‐term rental and a short‐term rental are
fundamentally different business models,” she argued in her opening statement.
Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway-Walsh said it was hard to believe the committee was in one of its final sessions on the regulations, which are due to kick in around 12 weeks’ time, yet no planning guidelines have been issued by the government.
The Booking.com representative told the committee that the company is due to meet with Fáilte Ireland tomorrow to discuss the new short-term let register that will launch in May.
Fianna Fáil senator Mary Fitzpatrick told the committee that since 2019, it has been law for those operating a short-term let to obtain planning permission.
This was a point raised in the Dáil last week by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
