New planning legislative reforms to regulate the short-term letting sector and ease pressure in the private rental market came into effect on 1 July 2019.
The reforms, now underpinned in legislation, are primarily aimed at bringing back houses and apartments which are currently being used for short-term letting purposes to the traditional long-term rental market in order to ease accommodation shortage pressures in “rent pressure zones”.
If you wish to avail of the planning exemptions, you will need to register with Cork City Council. The registration process entails the submission of a Form 15.
If you own a property in a rent pressure zone which is not your principal private residence and intend to use it for short-term letting, you are required to apply for change-of-use planning permission unless the property already has specific planning permission to be used for tourism or short-term letting purposes.
Completed registration/notification forms can be returned by email to short_termlet@corkcity.ie or by post to:
Short-Term Letting Section, Cork City Council, Community Culture and Placemaking Directorate, City Hall, Anglesea Street, Cork T12 T997.
Any queries relating to Home-Sharing or Short-Term Letting can be directed by email to short_termlet@corkcity.ie.
When did the provisions take effect?
01 July 2019
What is homesharing?
Homesharing is the letting of a room or rooms in a person’s principal private residence (house or apartment) while it is occupied by the resident.
What is short-term letting?
The letting of a house or apartment, or part of a house or apartment, for any period not exceeding 14 days.
What is permitted in a rent pressure zone?
In a rent pressure zone, in a principal private residence, an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning exemption is allowed to enable a person to do unlimited homesharing (letting of a room or rooms while the owner is present) and limited short-term letting (letting of the entire property to a max of 90 days per annum while they are temporarily absent). If a homesharer wants to let their entire property for greater than 90 days then planning permission will be required.
What is a material change of use?
The use of any house or apartment for short-term letting use in a rent pressure zone is a ‘material change in the use’ of the structure. In other words, any short-term letting use in a house or apartment will be deemed to be development requiring planning permission except where the relevant exemptions apply.
How do you prove that a property is your principal private residence?
The regulations define a ‘principal private residence’ as a place where a person ordinarily resides. Documentary evidence such as bills etc. should be sufficient to prove this.
What is the 90 day cap?
The 90 cap relates to the total cumulative number of letting days over a calendar year period that a homesharer can let their permanent place of residence (house or apartment) while they are temporarily absent from their home. For example, a homesharer may possibly let their entire principal private residence for 2 days on 45 separate weekends in a year i.e. 45 weekends x 2 days = 90 days without having to obtain planning permission. The cap of 90 days relates to actual short-term letting bookings as opposed to a house or apartment being available for short-term letting.
Who registers?
Someone doing homesharing? Yes, it’s a requirement of the planning exemption provisions in a rent pressure zone.
Someone letting their entire home (less than 90 days)? Yes, it’s a requirement of the exemption in a rent pressure zone.
Executive type let? No, executive/ corporate type lettings (which are normally for periods in excess of 14 days) are not short-term lets.
Holiday home? No need to register if you have specific permission for use as a holiday home.
Short-term let outside of a rent pressure zone No, registration requirements do not apply outside of rent pressure zones
When do I need to submit my notification?
Form 15 - Start of year notification. It should be returned within 4 weeks of the start of each year and 2 weeks prior to the first instance of the proposed change of use.
Form 16 - This form is only required to be completed if the 90-day cap is reached during the year. It should be returned no later than 2 weeks after the event.
Form 17 - End of year notification. It shall be returned no later than 4 weeks after the end of each calendar year.
How can I make a complaint?
You can make a complaint by completing the Short Term Letting Complaint Form and either posting it to the Short Term Letting Section, Cork City Council, City Hall, Cork or emailing it to short_termlet@corkcity.ie
This form includes two pages, both of which should be completed. Please ensure to fill out as much detail as you can. All forms must be signed by the complainant and an address provided for correspondence.
The form also has explanatory notes that should be read before completing the form.
You should provide the exact location of the site, details of the suspected unauthorised use, details (where known) of the property owner, the date on which the development began, your own name and address and a daytime contact number. Anonymous or unsigned complaints will not be investigated.
Will my complaint be kept confidential?
If you make a Short Term Letting complaint your details are treated in the greatest confidence and are not released to any third party and are not entered in Cork City Council’s Planning Register. It is Cork City Council’s policy to keep the name of the complainant confidential both during the course of any Short Term Letting proceedings, and afterwards when the case is completed.
However, this information is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 as amended and accordingly may be subject to disclosure. In exceptional circumstances, this information may be subpoenaed by a Court. More information on Freedom of Information is available here.
