Title: Over 20,000 Irish Homes Listed as Short-Term Lets Amid Rental Market Shortage
Ireland is grappling with a significant disparity between the number of homes available for short-term letting and those available for long-term rental. According to the housing charity Threshold, data from Inside Airbnb reveals that over 20,000 homes are being advertised as short-term lets across the country. In stark contrast, only about 2,300 homes are available for private rental nationwide.
Inside Airbnb, a platform that aggregates data from the popular short-term rental website, provides insights into the scale of this issue. The most recent data, which is three months old, indicates that there were 20,176 properties listed in Ireland, excluding home-sharing arrangements. Notably, nearly 8,000 of these listings are for entire properties, where hosts manage more than one property.
This situation is exacerbated by the findings from Daft.ie, which reported last month that fewer than 2,300 homes were available for private rental across the country. Furthermore, in 2024, there were only 167 applications for ‘change of use’ planning permission submitted to local authorities across the 26 counties. Such permission is legally required for properties used as short-term lets for more than 90 days a year.
Threshold has called on the Government to swiftly enact legislation to establish a register of short-term lets. The aim is to facilitate the return of some of these homes to the long-term rental market. Threshold’s Chief Executive, John-Mark McCafferty, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that existing planning regulations are not being enforced and that regulations for short-term lets have yet to be enacted into law. This regulatory gap allows thousands of homes to remain in the short-term rental market, exacerbating the housing and rental crisis nationwide.
Despite Fáilte Ireland having developed the infrastructure for a short-term let register, the Government has not yet passed the necessary legislation to align the short-term rental market with the broader hospitality sector. With an EU Directive requiring compliance by next year, McCafferty questioned the delay in implementing this straightforward measure that could alleviate housing pressures.
Dublin emerges as the hotspot for short-term lets, with 856 hosts managing 2,287 properties. Cork follows, with 312 hosts advertising 616 properties. The situation is particularly acute in Galway, where 292 hosts list 1,009 properties across the city and county. In Waterford, 83 hosts advertise 185 properties, while Limerick has 53 hosts with 97 property listings.
A detailed analysis of the Inside Airbnb data by Threshold uncovered instances of individual hosts managing multiple listings. One couple, described as private hosts, has 189 active listings. Another private host has 92 listings, including a three-bedroom home in Ranelagh available for two weeks in June at a cost of €3,885. In Dublin 24, a three-bedroom home was advertised for a week-long stay in March 2025 for €1,330.
McCafferty criticized the government’s inaction, pointing out that while housing is touted as the number one issue, a viable solution to ease market pressures is being overlooked. He called for immediate action to address this pressing issue.
In response, Airbnb stated that the data presented by Threshold does not reflect the company’s own findings. A spokesperson for Airbnb noted that a typical host in Ireland rents out one home for less than four nights a month and that nearly 90% of entire home hosts have only one listing. They emphasized that most listings are outside Dublin and contribute to the rural tourism economy. Additionally, almost half of the hosts rely on the extra income to afford their homes.
Airbnb acknowledged the longstanding housing challenges but reiterated its commitment to collaborating with the Government to implement new regulations. The company has long advocated for proportional short-term let rules, including a host register, to protect the families, communities, and businesses reliant on tourism.
