Ireland's short-term letting register to open on 1 December

What the register requires

Under the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill, hosts will need a valid registration number and must display it on every advertisement and listing. Platforms will have to show registration numbers, run random checks on listings, submit data on rental activity and remove or disable non-compliant listings when required.

Fáilte Ireland will become the competent authority. The Bill gives it powers to appoint registration officers and authorised personnel to carry out inspections and investigations, and to require information and records. Serious breaches by platforms can draw financial sanctions of up to 2 per cent of annual worldwide turnover. Fixed payment notices and summary offences sit alongside those fines.

The register will cover stays of up to 21 nights for the first time, the Irish Times reported. The Irish Examiner reported that anyone letting a property for more than 21 days a year must sign up from 1 December. The first figure sets the length of a short-term stay; the second sets the annual letting threshold.

Peter Burke, the Minister for Tourism, said the register would "improve the quality of data on tourist accommodation and strengthen transparency across the sector". The Government cited the growth of short-term lettings and the difficulty in contacting hosts as reasons for the legislation. The Bill is in line with EU regulations, the Irish Times reported.

Why housing groups pushed for it

Threshold compared short-term listings with long-term supply. It counted 1,249 short-term listings in Galway by hosts with more than one listing, against 218 properties advertised to rent on Daft.ie across Co Galway. In Cork it counted 701 short-term listings against 365 Daft.ie rentals, and in Dublin 1,997 against 1,263.

The Department of Housing told a committee that around 1.3% of all short-term lets in use for more than 90 days had applied for planning permission as of May 2025. In the seven years that permission has been required, 186 permissions were granted, a 43.6% approval rate, the Irish Examiner reported.

Cat Clark, Threshold's campaign officer, said: "We really wanted to see this bill enacted. It could be such a home-saving measure." She said the group had seen "a lot of inertia and inaction". She said Threshold hoped the register would help return accommodation to the long-term rental market. "That is a huge amount of housing supply that is ready to go," she said, adding that it "would definitely alleviate homelessness and the rental pressure in Galway City".

Planning rules

All hosts must confirm they are compliant with planning rules to register. Hosts in locations with a population under 20,000 will have two years to regularise their planning position. In areas with populations greater than 20,000, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, local authorities will be barred from granting new planning permission to convert properties into short-term lets.

The planning requirement already exists for short-term lets in use for more than 90 days, but it has not been enforced effectively by local authorities, the Irish Examiner reported. Threshold said it expects the register to enforce those rules in Galway.

What happens next

The Bill is expected before the Dáil on Tuesday week, the Irish Examiner reported. It must pass through the Oireachtas before the register opens on 1 December.