Homesharing and Short Term Lettings

The new provisions will only apply in areas designated as ‘rent pressure zones’ under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended. Short term letting in areas outside the designated rent pressure zones are not impacted in any way by the new arrangements.

All information in relation to short term letting can be found here.

New Regulation of Short-Term Letting

On the 22nd April 2020 Killarney LEA was designated a Rent Pressure Zone

As part of the measures to help address pressures in the private housing rental market, new planning legislative reforms to regulate the short term letting sector – as provided for in the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 and supplementary regulations made by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government entitled the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 – are due to come into effect on 1 July 2019.

Under Action 18 of the Strategy for the Rental Sector published in December 2016, a Working Group was established, involving representatives of all major public stakeholders with a policy interest in short-term lettings, to consider measures aimed at facilitating the short-term letting of accommodation within permanent residences (homesharing), protecting the existing stock of residential stock in areas of high demand, providing clarity in relation to the appropriate regulatory approach – from a planning perspective – for short-term tourism related lettings while also recognizing the important role of short-term lettings in the provision of tourist accommodation.

Having considered the Working Group’s report as well as the recommendations in the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government on short-term lettings, the Minister announced plans to regulate short-term lettings in October 2018.

The reforms, which are now underpinned in legislation, are primarily aimed at addressing the impact on the private rental market by the use of residential homes for short-term tourism type letting in areas of high housing demand. Accordingly the new provisions will only apply in areas designated as “rent pressure zones”

Under the new arrangements applicable in rent pressure zones:

  • Short term letting is defined as the letting of a house or apartment, or part of a house or apartment, for any period not exceeding 14 days.
  • Homesharing (the letting of a room or rooms in a person’s principal private residence) will continue to be permissible on an unrestricted basis and be exempted from the new planning requirements.
  • Homesharers will be allowed to sub-let their entire principle private residence (house or apartment) on a short term basis for a cumulative period of 90 days where they are temporarily absent from their home.
  • Where the 90 day threshold is exceeded, change of use planning permission will be required.

If you homeshare your principal private residence in a rent pressure zone and wish to avail of the new planning exemptions, you will need to register this with your local authority and fulfil specified reporting obligations.

However, where a person owns a property in a rent pressure zone which is not their principal private residence and intends to let it for short-term letting purposes, s/he will be required to apply for a 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 associated “Frequently Asked Questions” document has been prepared to assist in providing a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of the new short term letting reforms and the new reporting obligations on homesharers.

Related Documents

Download the latest documents

Related Legislation

Please return all forms to:  Homesharing and Short Term Letting ,Planning Department, County Buildings, Rathass, Tralee, Co. Kerry,  V92H7VT

 

Enforcement of Short-Term Letting

In order for the new provisions to have the desired affect and achieve their objective of bringing properties back into the long-term letting market having regard to the current shortage of accommodation in this sector, the Planning Authority will actively implement and enforce the new provisions utilising the powers available to them in tackling individuals engaged in unauthorised short term letting activity.

Where a person believes that unauthorised activity may have been, is being or may be about to be carried out, they can make a complaint, in writing, to their local planning authority.  Complaints about planning enforcement should be made in writing, to the local planning authority.

Complaints made should be as specific as possible, ideally setting out:

  • the nature and extent of the alleged unauthorised development/ short term letting;
  • the location and full address of the alleged unauthorised development;
  • a timeline (i.e. how long the development has been ongoing or when the alleged breach took place);
  • the effects of the development (on you, the environment, the surrounding area etc.);
  • other breaches that might be taking place i.e. breaches of other legal requirements.

Under the Planning Acts, it is obligatory for planning authorities to follow up and investigate substantive written complaints of breaches of the planning code, unless they consider the complaint to be trivial or vexatious.

An Roinn Pleanála, An t-Aonad Forfheidhmithe,
Comhairle Contae Chiarraí, Áras an Chontae,
Ráth Teas, Trá , Co. Chiarraí.

Planning Department, Enforcement Unit
Kerry County Council, Áras an Chontae,
Rathass, Tralee, Co. Kerry.

T. (066) 7183795
F. (066) 7120328
[email protected]

Contact Us

Room 13,
Planning Department
Rathass,Tralee,
Co. Kerry
Tel: 066/7183582
Fax: 066/7120328
E: [email protected]

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