Short-term let host in Tralee blasts clampdown – it’s like ‘plucking a figure from the sky’
The KerrymanA short-term let host in Tralee has spoken out against the inclusion of the town in clampdown legislation as concerns over planning permission continue.
An Airbnb host in the town said the new rules were “very arbitrary” and was like “plucking a figure from the sky”.
The government recently agreed to revise restrictions due to come into force on short term lets to towns with a population of greater than 20,000 – instead of 10,000 as previously planned.
While this means Killarney will no longer come under the new requirements, Tralee still faces a clampdown on holiday lets.
Anne, who runs an Airbnb in Tralee, felt drawing the line at 20,000 population was “very arbitrary” and was like “plucking a figure from the sky”.
“The government seem to be applying a one size fits all approach to the lack of housing which will ultimately fail in my opinion,” she said.
“We bought our apartment to use ourselves and when it is free it makes sense to allow others to use it through Airbnb. We will not be putting it on the long-term rental market and from conversations I have had with other hosts, I am not alone in this thinking.”
“We have to understand that Kerry is first and foremost a tourist destination and taking short term lets out of the equation is going to be detrimental to this vital industry.”
New laws introduced last year mean the entire country is classed as a rent pressure zone (RPZ), meaning short term accommodation providers must apply for planning permission from the council.
While these laws stand, the recent announcement draws the line between areas where applications will be treated more or less favourably, though what exactly this means is still to be ironed out.
Noelle Casey, vice-chair of the Irish Self-Catering Federation (ISCF) and owner of a short-term let near Killarney, said the announcement was in the right direction but the “devil is in the detail”.
She said the 20,000 figure was “very arbitrary” given you could argue Tralee has less hotels compared with Killarney.
“I ain't bringing out the champagne glass because we've been down this road before where we were told X, Y or Z,” said Ms Casey.
“You also have tourist towns like Tralee, or Ennis along the Wild Atlantic Way that will be caught with the 20,000, so maybe there should be special allowances for tourist towns specifically in this part of the world.”
Also touted was grandfather legislation, which could allow exemptions for those operating for seven years or more.
Ms Casey said their members would be “delighted” if such rules were introduced. While she didn’t agree with the often cited analogy of long term landlords throwing renters for more profitable short term lets, she said the legislation shouldn’t impact the livelihoods of people who had been doing it for years
There has to be a bit of a balance,” she said.
Kerry councillor Brendan Cronin also welcomed the mention of the grandfather clause but argued that planning permission would still pose a challenge.
“This is the first step of the process that was announced yesterday morning regarding the town population, that's a positive start,” said Cllr Cronin.
“But there are serious, serious issues still remaining regarding the whole planning situation and the difficulties that can arise out of it.”
“To someone that has been operating 15 years, who will have to apply for planning permission, you are opening up a serious issue. It's high risk.”
“What I'm looking for is that there be that exemption for established providers that have been operating and can show that they've been operating for X amount of years.”
Indeed, Ms Casey said operators who the council were attempting to shut down would have a stronger case in court than those who applied for planning permission and were rejected.
Another major issue with the planning permission rule is the lack of flexibility it provides to owners who may want to sell or change use of their property.
If an owner with short term let planning, decides to sell their property, the potential market value could be significantly lower, claims Ms Casey.
“A lot of people don't realise that the value of your house would significantly decrease,” she said.
“You could have paid maybe 300,000 or 400,000 for your house, or you invested that amount of money, and you went to sell it, and you could only sell it for 100,000. That's another reason why people would be very slow to change over to short term rental planning.”
These implications draw parallels with the new rental legislation in that landlords of short term and long term lets will have overall less flexibility when it comes to decisions over their property.
The long term rental rules due to come into force next month prescribe minimum six year leases, with the landlord unable to terminate tenancies if they wish to sell.
In the same vein, short term planning permission might make the property challenging to sell, or potentially result in big loses for the owner.
The net result of both is that the owner has less control over their asset.