No landlord flight from short-term sector ahead of new Airbnb rules

It's like Come Dine with Me for Airbnbs; a group of short-term letting "hosts" team up to visit each other's properties and then mark them out of 10. It has all the vital ingredients for a guilty pleasure binge: plenty of cattiness ("it takes a lot of money to look this cheap," one team opines on a Hollywood bordello-style beachside property near Bondi Beach); "interesting" characters – one of the contestants is called Bondi – and yes, you guessed it, she lives in the property in Bondi Beach; and some envy-inducing property porn (open fireplace on the deck, direct access to the beach).

Oh, and like all good property programmes, it also has a home that the hosts claim is in one place but is actually a good 30km away.

Yes, Instant Hotel is the latest binge-fest from Netflix, for those who have tired of folding their clothes à la Marie Kondo. But it seems that the programme is hiding more than just the location of one of the properties.

It turns out that the incorrectly listed beachside resort is in north Byron Bay and has run afoul of local planning laws – and not for an inaccurate description of its address. The owners have been lambasted by local councillors for having a “flagrant disregard” for planning laws, and were issued a $3,000 (€1,879) on-the-spot fine for unlawful holiday letting.

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It might get much better weather, but it seems Australia has much in common with Ireland when it comes to housing supply, or lack thereof, and how short-term lettings might be squeezing what is available – and how it can be restricted.

Irish regulations

Of course, Ireland is still awaiting its own regulations. Last October the Government announced new rules aimed at curbing the rapid expansion of Airbnb in the capital with the intention to “unlock stock” that has moved from the long-term rental sector to the short term.

There is merit in the idea; despite record rents, many landlords have nonetheless increasingly sought out even higher revenues in the short-term sector, as it’s not subject to rent controls, and landlords also don’t have to register tenancies with the Residential Tenancies Board.

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy expects that some 3,000 properties could go back into the long-term rental market on the back of the rules, which are due to come into effect on June 1st.

But will they actually work?

Landlords aren't fleeing the short-term sector – or at least not yet. Perhaps it's a case of making hay while the sun still shines

The imminent arrival of the regulations appear to have had limited impact on the market. As our story yesterday on lucrative lets shows, there is still a lot of money to be made in the short-term market, with some landlords appearing to earn more than €200,000 a year on individual properties.

There are more than 6,000 short-term lets listed on Airbnb for Dublin. That’s actually a little more than at this time last year. Daft.ie, meanwhile, has just 1,406 properties available for the long-term market.

Landlords aren’t fleeing the short-term sector – or at least not yet. Perhaps it’s a case of making hay while the sun still shines.

Many listings embrace what Airbnb suggests is the true spirit of the platform – people renting out rooms in their home to boost their income or help pay down their mortgage. Plenty of others, however – about 58 per cent, according to AirDNA – are listings for entire homes, which could otherwise be let to residents rather than tourists.

Change is slow

Change may be on the way, but the move to the new regulations is slower than one might have expected. With landlords expected to get planning permission if they want to let out entire properties on a short-term basis, one could reasonably expect a certain number of these to have applied already for such permission.

A quick look at Dublin City Council’s planning database confirms that there hasn’t been even a trickle of planning requests since the Government made its proposals. The only (few) applications for short-term lettings come from new players in the market.

Meanwhile, there is no sign of the legislation needed to give effect to the new rules. According to the Department of Housing, this is “currently being finalised”. But until it is, the guidance local authorities need to oversee the new rules equally cannot be finalised.

A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council says additional resources have not been allocated as yet to enforcement of the new regulations as it's still waiting on the legislation.

And the other question, of course, is that even when the rules are here, will they work?

London introduced a 90-day limit for entire properties on Airbnbs back in 2017 but a Google search quickly throws up ways hosts can get around the rules.

The north Byron Bay property in Australia appears to be no longer listed on Airbnb. But it is available on other short-term letting sites.

As we’ve seen with our own rent controls, the lack of enforcement powers given to the Residential Tenancies Board to sufficiently oversee the market has hampered their success.

With Airbnb, the horse has long since bolted; whether it’s now going to be possible to walk it back in and close the door remains to be seen.