Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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On 7 December 2022 the Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill (STTL Bill) and the priority drafting of the Bill which provides for the establishment of a new registration system for short-term lettings to be operated by Fáilte Ireland in line with the commitment under Housing for All - A New Housing Plan for Ireland. The work on the Bill is being led by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (DTCAGSM).

The proposed STTL Bill remains the subject of ongoing engagement with the EU Commission in accordance with the Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) EU Directive 2015/1535.

As part of this engagement, officials from the Department of Tourism and from Fáilte Ireland met with representatives of the Commission in Brussels on 11 December 2023 and then, on 15 December, provided a formal response to the Commission’s communication of 22 March 2023 setting out Ireland’s proposed approach to achieve alignment between the proposed STTL Bill and EU law, in particular the new Short Term Rental Regulation (STR).

On 9 February 2024, the Commission responded positively regarding the principles outlined in Ireland’s formal response and to suggest that further consideration was required to ensure complete alignment. Department of Tourism officials met again with the Commission on 21 February in this regard and to provide further clarifications on the proposed approach. This was a very positive engagement and the officials have provided a further written response to the Commission via the TRIS process.

It is expected that the TRIS process will conclude shortly, with the publication of the STTL Bill in the period thereafter.

Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission, this includes a material change of use of a property such as for short term letting. Where a person owns a second property which is not their principal private residence and lets it, or intends to let it, for short-term letting purposes, they will require the appropriate planning permission to do so unless the property concerned already has planning permission to be used for tourism or short-term letting purposes, or is otherwise exempted under legislation.

My Department is currently developing Planning Guidelines for the Short-Term Letting sector to supplement the introduction of the STTL Bill. This guidance will provide clarity and certainty on the planning permission requirements in respect of short-term letting properties. It is intended that a draft of the updated guidelines will be published simultaneously with the publication of the STTL Bill by DTCAGSM in order that property owners will have a greater understanding of the planning requirements well in advance of the final enactment of the STTL Bill.

It is proposed that property owners operating within the sector will be allowed a period of six months from the establishment of the STTL register to check the status of their property and/or apply for change of use planning permission. During this period, they can continue to offer their accommodation as tourist accommodation while their planning permission status is being clarified.