Fianna Fáil is proposing new legislation which would set a 90-night limit on short-term lettings without planning permission.
The Bill targets landlords who let at a “professional” level with Airbnb and other short-term letting arrangements.
Fianna Fáil's housing spokesman Barry Cowen said the measure is not aimed at the average property owner who lets the property for the traditional rental market.
Mr Cowen and Wicklow TD Pat Casey will introduce the Planning and Development Short-Term Letting Bill in the Dáil next week.
Mr Casey said there were more short-term rental properties available in the Dublin 1 area than there were traditional rental units.
“At least 30 former rented units have been ‘lost’ in the past 18 months as a result of a change of use for the purposes of short term lets,” he said.
Regulation was needed to allow ordinary home owners “let out their apartment on occasion but prevents the loss of units from the rental market into full time short-term lets”.
The Bill follows a report by the Oireachtas Housing, Planning & Local Government committee which recommended better regulation of short -term lets after 90 days, similar to limits imposed in London.
Mr Cowen pointed to cities including Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona and San Francisco as well as London which have placed regulations on short-term lettings, including Airbnb. “Given the scale of our rental crisis we clearly need to take action.”
The proposed legislation also requires landlords to provide information to local authorities on the use of apartments and to fund the administration of this information sharing.
Mr Cowen said in Dublin a typical Airbnb host earned €5,000 and hosted for 51 nights in 2016.
The proposed 90 nights limit would only affect “professional Airbnb lets”, not average users. “There were 1,103 entire homes booked for more than 80 nights in all of Dublin during 2016.”
He said the number was getting higher. He believed the Bill would ensure that “these types of homes either receive full planning permission or are brought back into the rental market”.
“We need to show more imagination and conviction in getting to grips with our housing crisis. Regulating short term lettings like Airbnb is a small but important step in the right direction.”
