Very few Airbnb-style hosts in Dublin city are adhering to new rules, despite a crackdown on short-term lets.
Dublin City Council (DCC) has set itself a target of 1,000 investigations a year to tackle homeowners who are ignoring the regulations.
Just 16 planning applications for short-term lets have been lodged in Dublin city since new rules were introduced in July 2019.
Three of these are awaiting a decision while the rest were either refused, withdrawn or declared invalid.
Landlords who want to let a property, that is not their primary residence, must apply for planning permission but the council has warned they are likely to be refused.
John Mark McCafferty from housing charity Threshold says there are clearly more than 16 properties involved in year-round short-term lets.
"It is the seeking and the identifying and the sanctioning of those who are not adhering. They have to be identified and they have to be sanctioned," said Mr McCafferty.
There are believed to be 7,200 Airbnb listings in Dublin city alone but the council’s had just 315 notifications from homeowners looking to register to let part or all of their home.
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin says it should be an offence for estate agents and short-term letting platforms to advertise properties that are not compliant.
"So long as the platforms - including Airbnb - are allowed to knowingly advertise non-compliant properties, enforcement is going to be very difficult."
DCC has launched 395 investigations into suspect properties, with 87 cases resolved.
Airbnb says it wants to work with the Government to make the home sharing rules work.
It says that is why it's busy promoting the rules to hosts.
It says it is continuing talks with all levels of government on how they can work together to boost awareness and compliance with the new rules.