Online accommodation platforms including Airbnb and Booking.com could face substantial financial penalties amounting to millions of euro under Ireland’s new short-term letting regulations set to take effect in May 2026.
The measures, outlined in the newly published General Scheme of the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill, establish a mandatory registration system for all short-term rental properties in Ireland. This register will be administered by Fáilte Ireland, enabling the tourism body to monitor online platforms and verify property owners’ compliance, while also allowing local councils to check for valid planning permissions.
According to reports in The Irish Times, the legislation could effectively ban short-term lets in urban areas, as planning permission applications will be refused for properties in locations with populations exceeding 10,000. The rules will require registration for any accommodation offered for periods up to and including 21 nights.
Online platforms that list properties without valid registration numbers could face severe penalties of up to two percent of their annual income—potentially resulting in multimillion-euro fines for major international booking sites.
The government hopes these measures could return approximately 10,000 homes to the long-term rental market, addressing part of Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis. Fáilte Ireland currently estimates there are 32,000 short-term lets advertised online across the country.
The legislation represents one of the most significant regulatory interventions in Ireland’s short-term rental market, with substantial implications for both international booking platforms and individual property owners who have been operating in the previously less regulated environment.