New figures suggest Cork landlords flouting new Airbnb laws
Landlords are continuing to flout new laws that restrict the renting out of properties on a short-term basis.
Cork City Council has yet to receive a single planning application from a property owner seeking to rent it out on a short-term basis, despite the Government introducing new legislation in July requiring them to do so.
The new rules were designed to increase the volume of housing stock available in the private rental market amid suggestions that property owners were leaving the market in favour of short-term rentals via platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com and Trivago.
The legislation is focused on areas where the housing crisis is most acute, including Cork and Dublin.
It requires people renting out an entire property on a short-term basis for more than 90 days per year to seek planning permission from their local authority to do so. Since July, Cork City Council said it has not received a single application for planning permission.
In addition, the legislation requires those renting out rooms in their home or letting out an entire property for less than 90 days per year to register for an exemption. Ten such exemptions have been received by Cork City Council since July.
Cork City Council said it has sought additional resources to enforce the legislation but has not yet been approved for this. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has approved €750,000 for Dublin City Council to enforce the rules, according to RTÉ.
A spokesperson for Cork City Council said:
"While Cork City Council does have staff dealing with short-term lettings, there is no dedicated team or budget."
"Cork City Council has been in contact with Government in relation to additional resources however none have been realized to date."
According to InsideAirbnb.com, an independent project that analyses statistics from the Airbnb website, there were 548 listings for the Cork City Council administrative area last week.
Of these, 224 (41%) were for an entire home or apartment and would, therefore, require planning permission.
Of the remaining 324, 323 listings were all private rooms in accommodation, which requires an exemption. There was one shared room available.
The website reports the average pricing for Cork city is €85 per night.
The website allows listings to be sorted by most recent and frequently booked, referring to properties that have been booked within the last six months and are booked for a minimum of 90 days.
These properties are occupied for an average of 218 nights of the year, with an average price of €77 per night. These listings generate an estimated income of €1,380 per month, according to Insideairbnb.com.
Of the 548 listings on Airbnb for Cork city, 60.9% were owned by hosts who have more than one property listed for rent.
In the Cork County Council area, there are 1,772 listings, 60.2% of which are entire homes or apartments.
There is an average price of €108 per night, with properties booked for an estimated 99 nights of the year. The "recent and frequent properties" generate an estimated monthly income of €1,232 for their owners.
