Dublin City Council issues 300 Warning Letters to property owners engaged in short term rentals

Gordon Deegan

Dublin City Council has this year to date issued around 300 statutory Warning Letters to property owners engaged in the alleged unauthorised use of short-term rental of their properties to tourists and visitors to the capital.

In a clampdown against those property owners placing their properties on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, the Council has confirmed that it has issued to date this year the approximate 300 Warning Letters, which is the first step planning authorities take in planning enforcement actions.

A spokesman for the Council said today: “To-date since the initiation of the Short Term Letting legislation in July 2019, a successful resolution has been achieved in respect of 1,996 cases, these cases have been resolved and closed following the commencement of and compliance with enforcement requirements.”

Property owners who do seek to regularise their unauthorised use through planning retention applications however face an uphill struggle in securing planning retention for their short-term letting.

This arises from a policy in the Dublin City Development Plan where there is a general presumption against the provision of dedicated short term tourist rental accommodation in the city due to the impact on the availability of housing stock.

One of the property owners to receive a Warning Letter was the operator of Dublin Castle Suites, Olympia Real Estate Limited.

The firm received a Warning Letter in March and earlier this month, Dublin City Council refused the firm’s planning application for the planning retention to continue the short term rental use of its 10 apartments facing onto Parliament Street and Dame Street and close to Dublin Castle and Temple Bar.

Another short-term stay operator, Bébinn Limited, trading as 'Shortstays' currently has a planning application before the City Council for the planning retention for short term letting accommodation for six en-suite bedrooms on Benburb Street, D7.

Asked to comment on the Council issuing the 300 letters concerning the unauthorised use of short-term lettings to date this year, a spokeswoman for Failte Ireland said: “Short-term letting (STL) accommodation is an important part of the overall tourist accommodation mix, helping to ensure we have offerings that cater to the different needs of visitors.

She said; “However, for communities to thrive, there must be a balanced mix of long-term private rental and short-term letting accommodation for tourists.”

Fáilte Ireland has been tasked with the establishment and maintenance of a statutory register of short-term letting accommodation in the State.

STL hosts offering accommodation for periods up to and including 21 nights will be obliged to register with Fáilte Ireland, confirm their compliance with planning requirements and hold a valid registration number that must be displayed on their STL listings.

The spokeswoman said: “The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill is being progressed by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) and will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of a register for short-term lets and for the implementation of the EU Short Term Rental (STR) Regulation.”

She said that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, will set out the planning guidance for short-term lets in a National Planning Statement “and will progress any necessary legislative changes to implement the new planning requirements”.

She said:  “Planning, including enforcement decisions on planning applications, is a matter for local authorities. The establishment of the register, along with the implementation of the EU STR Regulation, will provide Fáilte Ireland with data on STL properties.

"This data will be shared with local authorities to support their role in enforcement of planning requirements for short-term lets.”