We are calling on the government to put a pause on the introduction of new legislation that could have a devastating impact on tourism and our economy until all aspects of the legislation have been examined.
Our primary concerns are:
1) Lack of Engagement with the STR Sector
2) Planning Permission requirements as part of registration – lack of clarity
3) No recognition of the role of STR within a whole housing market
4) Impact on Female Employment Opportunities
5) Impact on Tourism
6) Privacy and Personal Security Concerns
7) Inspections & “Eligibility Criteria” Not Defined
8) Penalties and Enforcement Actions Severe
For more info on these click here.
*********************************************************************************Here are some of our questions that need to be answered before this legislation proceeds:
Question 1
Directed to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media:
Why does the definition of a short term rental for Department of Tourism differ from Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage?
The Department of Tourism have adopted a period of up to 21 nights. The Department of Housing and Planning use a period of up to 14 nights.
Question 2
Directed to Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage
& Minister for Tourism Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
In Part 1 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023 there is reference to Housing for All policy published September 2021 which commits to developing new regulatory controls for short-term and holiday lets with “a view to ensuring that houses are used to best effect in areas of housing need”.
Will the Department of Housing recognise that short term rentals are a valid housing need for more than just tourists, e.g., relocation, work contracts, etc.?
Will the Department of Housing also recognise that some properties will be used to “best effect” by continuing to operate as STRs? Many were built, designed or repurposed solely for the short term rental market, others are unsuitable due to location or lack of amenities and their “best effect” will not be in long-term.
Question 3
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
In Head 7 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023 it is claimed that Fáilte Ireland have a lack of understanding of the sector.
Given their proclaimed lack of understanding, how have they engaged with the sector to make the new registration system workable? Have Fáilte Ireland brought in stakeholders from the sector and worked with the people who will be affected by it the most?
Question 4
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Fáilte Ireland have yet to confirm what the fees will be for the new registration – essentially, they don’t know what to charge because they don’t know what the sector is made up of. Can the Minister give any indication as to what the fees will be for people to register their properties? It is necessary for people to know what they will be expected to pay.
Question 5
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
In Head 8, Head 9 and Head 13 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023 there are numerous mentions of inspections by the Board (National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003) or Fáilte Ireland.
- What would the property be inspected for? Are there guidelines/parameters published or expected to be published? What standards or criteria will be applied?
In Head 21 Fáilte Ireland will be allowed to apply “grading standards” in the future.
- What will those “grading standards” look like? What will the procedure be for applying standards to properties that are already registered? What will the notice period be?
Fáilte Ireland have previously said that inspections will not form part of the registration process.
- Why will powers of inspection be required? Will the registration system in the future require inspection?
In Head 8 and Head 13 there is mention of a property becoming “ineligible” for registration as a short term rental.
- What are the parameters for ineligibility as a short term rental?
Question 6
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Head 16 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023
Does this require a person with an ordinary holiday home that they intend to register as an “STTL” that has the word “Lodge” in the name to change the name of their holiday home? If they wish to keep the name “Lodge”, will they be required to register on the Hotels Register instead of the STTL Register, which will mean increased fees and they are not operating a hotel?
Question 7
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Head 18 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023
“Existing short term tourist letting premises will have 6 months from the commencement date of this section to apply to register on the STTL register”.
Can the Minister please clarify this statement?
In exchanges with Fáilte Ireland and Department of Tourism representatives, stakeholders were informed that all short term rentals must register immediately as soon as the register is live and that a 6 month clarification period applied to allow short term rental owners to bring their planning permission requirements into compliance. The wording of this makes it appear that they do NOT have to register immediately and have 6 months to complete their first registration.
Question 8
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Head 23,24 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023
Fáilte Ireland are being granted investigative and enforcement powers.
What kind of investigations will they be carrying out?
What constitutes an “authorised officer”?
What does “reasonable grounds” for a search mean?
What methods can they use for entering a premises?
Does the Minister feel granting Fáilte Ireland the same level of power as An Garda Síochána and the RTB is necessary?
Fáilte Ireland’s role is to support the tourism industry and work to sustain Ireland as a high-quality and competitive tourism destination. Granting these powers creates an adversarial relationship between Fáilte Ireland and a sector that they have clearly claimed they know nothing about. Also bearing in mind, many of the short term rental providers are women offering rooms in their own homes or granny flats attached to their own homes; does this approach seem right to you?
Question 9
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Head 25 and 28 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023
There are real privacy and security concerns with this aspect of the registration. The intention is to have the register, including Eircodes, available to anyone who requests that information. There is also the intention to publish the list of registered premises online quarterly.
Given that many short term rental providers share their home, others are properties located in rural areas, these properties could easily become targets for burglaries or other nefarious activities.
Can the Minister tell us exactly how much data will be available publicly?
Why is it necessary to expose people who are engaging with the system to potential security and privacy concerns?
Is the Minister engaging with the Data Protection Commissioner on this issue?
How does this fit in with European Union GDPR legislation?
Is the Minister aware that many providers are considering withdrawing their legitimate short term rentals from the market as a result of this?
Question 10
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Head 37 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023
Over 90% of the short term rental business is transacted online. Therefore, the online platforms have a huge role to play here.
What efforts have been made by the Minister to engage with the online providers in creating this register?
Has the Minister asked for information or examined what the online platforms have encountered in other jurisdictions?
Why are the sanctions that can be issued against the online platforms so small in comparison to the sanctions that can imposed on the individual?
There is a huge discrepancy there. The online platforms (referred to in the legislation as ISS – Information Service System) are subject to €5,000 fine maximum. The individual is subject to penalties of up to €50,000 or imprisonment of up to 5 years.
Question 11
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Head 41 of the draft legislation Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill 2023
The ISSs (online platforms) will be required to hand over lots of personal data to the Authority (National Tourism Development Authority).
Is the Minister aware of how this requirement works within GDPR legislation?
Are there laws protecting business rights that this may contravene?
What processes are in place to guarantee the security of this data? Are the technical solutions in place? What do they look like?
Question 12
Directed to Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Given the level of consternation about this new registration scheme and the lack of clarity surrounding the new legislation, what is the Minister’s timeline for implementing the proposed legislation?
Can the Minister remove the planning permission requirement from the registration system? By creating a simple register and removing that requirement the Department can then use the registration system to gather concrete data. This data can then be used to shape tourism and housing policy that is cohesive and will benefit both departments.
Question 13
Directed to Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage
There is frequent mention to “12,000 properties returned to the long-term rental sector” should this legislation be implemented.
Does the Minister recognise that the Department of Tourism have admitted they do not have an understanding of this sector and will therefore not achieve the expected numbers of properties back to the long-term market?
Does the Minister recognise that using the term “returned to the long-term market” is incorrect? Many of these properties were created purely for short term rentals and were never intended or are not suitable for long-term rentals. This is a particular issue in the traditional tourism areas, as well as the newly developed and marketed tourist areas, for example, the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.
Will the Minister issue Guidance Documents to Local Authorities that will offer a balanced view of both tourism and housing need?
Applications made for planning permission are being refused because of the blunt instruments that are the RPZs, without considering the suitability of the property for long-term letting. This could result in thousands of properties not being allowed to continue as short term rentals, therefore lying vacant for months of the year and offering no value to their local economies.