Planning permission for short lets in Ireland: how it works in 2026

Updated 27 September 2026. Ask an Irish owner what stands between them and a short let and most will name the platforms or Revenue. In fact the decisive question is planning: whether letting a property to visitors is a use your council has permitted. The rules have existed since 2019, but the National Planning Statement approved on 19 June 2026 and the arrival of a national register give them teeth. Here is how the system works.

Why a short let is a change of use

Planning law distinguishes between living in a house and running tourist accommodation from it. Since 2019, inside Rent Pressure Zones, letting a property for short stays is treated as a material change of use. Since 20 June 2025 the entire country is a Rent Pressure Zone, so the principle now applies from Donegal to West Cork. Currently a short stay means less than 14 days; the reform extends that to 21 nights.

When you do not need permission

• You let rooms in the home you live in, while you are living there.
• You let your whole principal residence while away, for no more than 90 days a year in total.
• The stays are longer than the short-term definition, or the let is to corporate or executive tenants, or the property already holds a tourist-use permission.

The first two cases still involve paperwork: forms 15, 16 and 17 tell the planning authority when you start, when you reach 90 days and what happened over the year. There is no fee for notifying.

When you do

A second home, a holiday cottage or an investment apartment let to visitors needs permission for change of use. So does a principal residence let whole for more than 90 days while you are away.

What changed in June 2026

The National Planning Statement gives councils a common framework. Three presumptions matter most:

• Above 20,000 inhabitants (2022 Census), permission is presumed refused. The exceptions listed are specific: reviving a protected structure, using vacant space above shops, or a small structure within the grounds of a home.
• At 20,000 or below, the council considers whether the area has high housing need, whether short lets are already concentrated in the estate or block, and whether there is a traffic, flooding or pollution risk. Rural housing policies still apply.
• Seven years of continuous use without enforcement creates a presumption in favour of permission, typically via a retention application.

Existing operators in the smaller places have two years to become compliant. In the larger ones, compliance is expected when you register.

Applying: costs, timing, appeals

The fees were set in 2001 by Schedule 9 to the Planning and Development Regulations. A change of use with no building work falls in the residual class: €80, or €10 for each 0.1 hectare of site area, whichever is greater; retention of the same development costs €240. The rates of €3.60 and €10.80 per square metre belong to another class and bite only where you also build, convert or extend, so a 70 square metre conversion is €80, not €252. A new fees instrument was signed in 2026: confirm the figure with the council before you lodge. Applications can be lodged through the Local Government Ireland planning portal or directly with the council, and usually take about eight weeks to decide. Site notices and a newspaper notice are part of the process, which means neighbours will know. Decisions can be appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Four owner situations

• A cottage outside Dingle, let since 2016. Below the threshold and likely beyond seven years: gather evidence of continuous use and consider retention.
• A flat in Galway city, bought in 2024 to let to tourists. Above the threshold and recent: permission is unlikely. A standard tenancy or medium stays are the realistic options.
• Your own house in Kilkenny, let while you travel in summer. Exempt below 90 days a year, provided the notifications are filed.
• A spare room in your Dublin home. Home-sharing is exempt from permission, with no cap on nights, but it will still need registering.

Before you apply

Search the council's planning register for the property's history; a grant from years ago may already cover tourist use, or a condition may forbid it. Check the title and, for apartments, the owners' management company's house rules. A council permission does not override a covenant in a lease. Then read the housing and tourism policies of the county development plan, which the council will apply alongside the national statement.

Our view

Planning is where most Irish short-let projects are won or lost, and it rewards owners who start with documents rather than hopes. If you would like us to look at your case, send the address and history; we study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.