Kate, 44, Waterford
Kate is a mother of four school-going children. She was able to set up quickly with online platform Airbnb when she found herself in a difficult financial situation. Her mother had to move to a nursing home due to dementia (and has died subsequently). In order to pay fees, and with an unoccupied house by the sea to take charge of, Kate was able to take bookings all summer, mostly from Irish families. She didn’t and doesn’t own the house, so she can’t sell it, at least not until after probate. It is a 5 bedroom luxury property full of her mother’s furniture, and in a location that would require a car. It wouldn’t suit as a solution to social housing or student accommodation, and the demand was there for a tourism offering, even though the property lies within the outer edge of a Rent Pressure Zone. Kate acted with speed and intelligence to solve a financial crisis. Her emotional crisis would have been very much added to if she had found she needed Change of Use Planning Permission which, after a long wait, might have been refused. If there had been even a mildly complicated registration system in place and the threat of fines, she would have had to find another solution, and undoubtedly by now she would have found herself in debt, with an empty, unusable house on her hands, and the local community – a thriving tourist destination on the edge of a city – would have been deprived of business.
Ciarán, 55, Newbawn
Ciarán has 3 sons. When his eldest boy was about to start at university in a city too far away to commute, Ciarán bought a small, run-down house near the college, and put time and his savings into fixing it up. When not occupied by his sons (now 2 of them, and the third hoping to join his brothers next September), he made the property available to summer and Christmas visitors by listing it with OTA, Airbnb as they have a simple-to-use system with no setup fees, and they only charge per booking received. This helped with his costs, made sure the boys kept the place well, and provided useful accommodation when it was most needed for tourism. Ciarán’s house is in an official Rent Pressure Zone, so he would be unlikely to get Planning Permission for holiday letting, and equally unlikely to get bookings for 14 or 21 or more days. He is providing student accommodation, but his house is not rented by students. He is someone who has found a workable solution which satisfies legitimate needs in the economy, and in no way harms the neighbourhood. His photographs and reviews testify that the house is well-maintained and a good place to stay.
Nora, 68, Kilmeaden
She and her husband divorced leaving her with a large thatched house and a small ancillary dwelling in a remote but picturesque location. Her income was suddenly reduced, but her maintenance bills were not. The main house, lovingly decorated and looked after, is just the sort of place that appears in Failte Ireland advertising.Like so many others who find themselves suddenly single, holiday letting provided an income for Nora, and an occupation with social interaction. She moved into the annex and listed her thatched house on Airbnb where it has been a popular choice with overseas visitors for many years. She has the freedom to retain periods for family use, and is a wonderful host and local tour guide.
Faced with rising insurance and heating costs, this threat of legislation which may curtail her business and add to her expenses, is causing anxiety (and Nora is only one of many similar cases). Her home is unsuitable for long-term letting, so she fears she will be forced to sell the family home, along with her annex, and move elsewhere. New owners would have to be able to afford the high heating and insurance costs without the income from short-term letting. This Irish icon could be at risk of falling into disrepair.
Nora is an example of how many people started in short-term and holiday letting. If further obstacles had been placed in her way she might never have tried it. Ireland’s tourism offering would be very limited without Nora and those like her. Her life would have been all the more difficult without the option to do what she did.
Richard and Siobhan, 72 and 66, New Ross
As a farm diversification project, they restored a small tumbledown cottage adjacent to their home. The project took many years of sporadic injections of time and money, but eventually it began to repay their efforts because tourists loved it, and there was satisfaction in knowing a piece of heritage architecture had been saved. To clear up any doubt about Planning Permission, they applied for Retention, but were refused because the septic tank was not up to the current standards. Their cottage stands idle, and is an example of what others fear will happen when they check their Planning Permission.
David, 31, Waterford City
David’s career has taken him abroad for a few years, but in 2016 he decided to get a foot on the property ladder in his home town. He did his sums carefully, and bought a run down terraced house which had been occupied by students. With the help of a family loan and a small mortgage, he set about getting it rewired and replumbed, and replaced the windows – jobs the former owner had neglected because she couldn’t justify the expense. David doesn’t want a long-term tenant because he doesn’t know when his job will take him home, and meanwhile the income he gets from short term rental pays the costs of looking after his home, and employs a local person to run it as a micro business. There is undoubtedly demand for this property as a family home, and perhaps David would make as much income from it that way, but equally it is needed to support the needs of short-term workers, occasional tourists who like the choice of a town house, and his own ability to have vacant possession – and his home in good order – without having to upset a tenant. He doesn’t see himself as being in the tourism industry as such, and would never have thought of registering with Failte Ireland. His reviews testify that he is a good host providing a comfortable, safe, and pleasant place to stay at an affordable rate. His neighbours are happy to be relieved of noisy students in a residential area, and to see the street improved by his investment. David, and many others like him, is faced with little choice but to sell up as he is unlikely to get planning permission for change of use under the current rules.
Sarah, 36, Kerry
Sarah set up a holiday home management and marketing business, having seen a need for the service. It grew quickly and she was full time self-employed.
Her clients are based all over the world. They all share the same need – having a property that needs to be looked after and pay for itself. Every client is emotionally invested in their home. They have inherited it from a previous generation; spent all their summers there, built it themselves over the years or use it as a second home on weekends or a few months a year. The expectations they have is for their house to be taken care of and fill the gaps between the time that they use it with paying guests. The income from the houses is reinvested into the houses and spent in the local area when they are in the house themselves.These houses will never be available on the long term letting market. They are treasured holiday homes that are well loved. They are used by families and extended families throughout the year. Some are too old or too cold for winter living.
Sarah is one person working in short term letting in one town. In 2022 her business had 553 nights booked. She earned a living wage that pays our mortgage, pays for childcare and is essential for her household to survive.
Her business paid almost €17,000 to local women for cleaning. Another €14,000 to the local maintenance man. The local launderette received €7,000 of business. The local hardware store received €8,000 worth of business. Many of these local businesses are staffed by women. Women who would not have an income if these businesses didn’t exist. Women, who like me, have families and households to support.
In a small coastal town tourism is key. The other industries of agriculture and fishing are seasonal and unstable. The short term letting market is essential to the life blood of the town.
According to Fáilte Ireland the average daily spend of a tourist is €81 per day not including accommodation. If each of the nights booked in my properties was only 2 people per night (it’s usually 3 or 4 people) that is a spend of €90,000. That’s tax revenue of €20,700. Every €1million of tourist expenditure equates to 27 jobs. So a conservative estimate of a €90,000 spend by Sarah’s guests equates to 2.5 jobs. Sarah’s job. The cleaners job. These jobs are real people.The Properties I Manage
To give you an idea of the properties Sarah manages here are some of their stories.
THE OLD FARMHOUSE
One house is an old farmhouse, inherited from his father. It has been slowly renovated over the years. The main expense was dealing with the damp, coming from an old stream that ran under the property. This costs thousands to rectify and requires ongoing management with a mechanical ventilation system. The house itself is in the 2% of Ireland that cannot get Saorview television. The internet is very hit-and-miss and expensive. From November to February no sunlight reaches the house because of its location on a hillside.
The family spend a month in the summer and all school midterm breaks and Christmas holidays there. When the family are not using it themselves it is offered as a short term let.
Holiday makers enjoy the break from technology and the lovely views. It is a highly reviewed and sought after property for short breaks.
However, this property would never be suitable for long-term letting. The income derived from short-term rental sustains this property, that would otherwise be too expensive to keep and fall into dereliction. It is also a treasured holiday home with family memories going back three generations.
THE COTTAGE
Another house is a cottage located twelve miles from the nearest town. The owner is American and spends two months a year here. She has family ties to the area and can trace her family history back to that village. She owns a woollen mill in the States. When she in Ireland she meets with local producers of wool and builds trade links to other micro-businesses in the area.
The house itself is difficult to access as it is on an awkward site. It would require a major redevelopment to convert to a suitable long-term let. It is expensive to heat. The maintenance costs are high. A deep gully runs next to the garden and every winter there are costly repairs, due to the erosion from the stream.
The guests that stay enjoy the rural and peaceful location. However, I have heard the phrase “I wouldn’t want to be here in the depths of winter” plenty of times from guests. This house is only suitable for short-term rental and brings life to a rural part of Ireland.
Michael, 42, Killeagh
Michael is a fourth generational tillage farmer in East Cork about 6 miles from the seaside town of Youghal. He currently has 3 short term rental units at the farm which he and his family run.
He and his father grew sugar beet on upwards of 1000 acres at one point and employed up to six people. They were also involved in arable contracting. After the closure of the sugar beet industry they adapted as best they could. The abolition of the milk quota cemented the demise of tillage farming in their area and their tillage acreage finally bottomed out to our own 120 acres. Faced with the possibility of not being able to sustain a living from the farm and being the the last generation to farm the land led Michael to look at his options to future proof the farm and ensure its viability.
Michael set about clearing out old barn buildings which were almost derelict and giving the entire farmyard a facelift. He restored one of the buildings and decided to build a Shepherd’s Hut which would be in keeping with the farm and could be used as a glamping experience. Both projects were completed using his own labour and employing skilled local tradesmen in the area.
Michael and his family have welcomed many visitors. On their arrival, they make a point of meeting each guest to explain their surroundings, showing them the local town from the farm, giving them the option of using the walking trails on the farm land, to spot the wild life, such as pheasants and deer, even a tractor spin for the children. The care and time given to each guest is something unique. Local bars and restuarants have enjoyed new business because of the farm stay Michael offers.
Michael’s farm, although rural, falls into the category of a rent pressure zone. His bespoke short term rental will not be allowed to continue as things stand. This will be a huge loss to Michael, his family and the local economy.