The snowballing growth of short-let rental and home-sharing sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO has created a new world of places to stay, and with it, a mass of new landlords (hosts) and options for tenants (guests). To keep everything fair and above board, the authorities involved with the most change have introduced or amended their regulations to incorporate this transformation within the industry and residential and rental laws.
Dublin is one such city. A tourist mecca, the city bustles 12 months of the year. With a non-stop calendar of things to do, see and participate in, the new short-let platforms allowed residents to make a little extra money with a minimum amount of effort.
Ireland’s rent pressure zones
However, Ireland continuously monitors the rental market in areas with a high demand for residential housing. These are known as ‘rent pressure zones’. You can find an updated list of the zones in the FAQ PDF supplied by the Housing Department. There are currently 42, and it should be no surprise to anybody that Dublin features right at the top.
There’s also everything else you could need to know about the short-let regulations in the PDF. For anyone already involved or thinking about testing the market, it’s a very thorough point of reference.
So, what is a short-term Dublin let?
A short-term let in Ireland is defined as letting or renting out part or all of a house or apartment for up to 14 days. Those wishing to let their property for longer than 14 days will need to hold the appropriate paperwork to do so.
Renting a room in your primary residence holds no restrictions
The idea of the legislation was designed to prevent long-term rental properties falling out of the system, and that those operating a commercial venture should proceed accordingly.
The rules weren’t designed to prevent anyone choosing to let a spare room in their own home from making a little extra money. So, if this is you, carry on. There’s nothing much here for you to worry about.
An additional income for the occasionally empty property
The short-term let was initially thought to provide a similar added income to anyone letting their entire home when they weren’t occupying the property. So, it makes sense that they would live there most of the time.
The issue with sites like Airbnb was that it showed full-time landlords how much more money they could make from filling a house or apartment with year-round short-term rentals, over the steady rent-paying long-term tenant.
The Dublin 90-day rule
Here’s a quick overview of what the short-term regulations mean for Dublin landlords and hosts.
Rooms in the principal property
You can share the rooms in your home, without the yearly restriction. You should be able to prove that you live there full-time and that you’re staying in the property at the time of the lettings. If so, then you can rent up to 4 rooms, with no more than 4 people staying in each, and for no longer than 14-day periods. You still have to let Dublin City Council know of your intended use of the property at the beginning of each year (Form 15), and the lettings you carried out at the close of the year (Form 17).
Letting the entire principal property
A host can let their entire home for periods of up to 2 weeks, as long as they don’t let the property for more than 90 days each calendar year. In this case, the owner doesn’t need to apply for a change in the planning permission. If you're planning to let your property for over 90 days of the year, the usage will change and planning permission will be required to operate within the new guidelines. This means completing the Form 16 Privacy Notice. You should submit this form no later than 2 weeks after reaching the threshold of 90 days. You must also submit Form 15 and Form 17 at the open and close of the year (or no later than 2 weeks from the beginning of the first short-term let of the year).
Letting a second property
Letting a second property, such as a buy-to-let or one purchased as an investment, will be considered solely as a business operation. This must operate within the law, and with all the correct paperwork. You must also hold the correct planning permission from your local authority. Planning fees will cost around €200 for an apartment and €600 for a typical family house. You will also have to pay commercial water charges and other similar expenses.
The statutory notices—Form 15 and Form 17—will still be required each year.
Can I sidestep the 90-day rule with mid-term and corporate lettings?
The legislation falls into a grey area with what is considered a mid-term let.
So far, areas of uncertainty have been judged on a case-by-case basis. Yet, many of the commercial agencies and property management services handling apartment and housing lets include extended-lets and corporate-lets as part of their standard services.
Extended lettings
Extended lettings (anything over the 14-day limit, but usually from 1 month to several years) are offered widely to those wishing to stay in the City, and who aren’t visiting purely for leisure purposes.
Consultants, specialists and executives that are visiting business headquarters or remote offices will need somewhere to stay, as will the student on a part-time course or exchange.
Organising this facility is standard practice for the professional operator or agent, but for an individual, it can become quite complicated.
Why not leave all the hard work to the professionals?
Making a profit from short-term lets in Dublin can create a lot of hard work, as well as being incredibly time-consuming. There are all the legal issues to take care of, the meeting and greeting of guests, regular cleaning and laundry services—all to keep guests content and happy. Then there’s the marketing, advertising and management required to keep your apartment or house booked up year-round.
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