Ireland's short-term letting register: a preparation guide for December 2026

Updated 27 September 2026. For years Ireland had rules on short-term letting but no reliable way to see who was actually doing it. That is about to change. A national register, run by Fáilte Ireland, is due to open on 1 December 2026, and from then on every listing on Airbnb, Booking.com and similar sites will need a registration number. This article sets out what is confirmed, what is still pending and the paperwork worth assembling before the portal goes live.

Why a register, and why now

The register is Ireland's way of applying EU Regulation 2024/1028 on short-term rental data, which requires member states that run registration schemes to give each unit an identifier and to oblige platforms to display it. The Irish scheme was first announced for May 2026, then pushed back by six months. In June 2026 the Government paired it with a National Planning Statement, so registration and planning compliance now arrive together.

Who has to register

Anyone offering accommodation for stays of up to 21 nights at a time, whether a whole house, a flat or a single room in the home you live in, must register each unit separately. Hotels, guesthouses, hostels, campsites and similar accommodation already covered by other schemes are excluded. Home-sharers are inside the scheme even though they remain exempt from planning permission: the register is about visibility, not only about planning.

What the application asks for

From the information published by Fáilte Ireland and Citizens Information, expect to supply:

• Your identity: name and PPSN for an individual, company registration details for a business.
• The unit: address and Eircode, type of property, size, maximum number of guests and bed places.
• A legal declaration that the unit complies with planning, building control and fire-safety requirements.
• An annual fee, described as nominal; the amount had not been published at the time of writing.

Registration is renewed every year. Fáilte Ireland is clear that it does not assess planning and cannot advise on it, which puts the weight of the declaration squarely on you.

The number on every advert

Each unit receives a unique number that must appear on every listing and advertisement. Platforms will have to check it and take down listings that lack a valid number, and, as of October 2026, the Government has said platforms face fines of up to 2% of annual turnover for failing to comply. Owners advertising without a number can also be fined. In practice, the platforms' own checks will be the enforcement most hosts meet first.

How the planning timetable interacts

This is where location changes everything. In a city or town with more than 20,000 inhabitants at the 2022 Census, planning compliance is expected at the point of registration, and new permission for short letting there is presumed refused except in narrow cases. In places of 20,000 or fewer, existing operators get two years to put their planning in order. A property let continuously for seven years or more without enforcement benefits from a presumption in favour of permission.

What is still uncertain

• The legislation. The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill was still passing through the Oireachtas at the end of September 2026. Fáilte Ireland says registration opens once the law is in place; if the Bill slips, the portal may too.
• The fee and the fines for hosts. Neither amount has been published.
• Evidence. Whether a declaration alone will suffice or documents will be spot-checked is not yet described in detail.

A preparation checklist

• Confirm your Eircode and measure the floor area of each unit you let.
• Count bed places honestly; a sofa bed counts if you advertise it.
• Gather the planning file: grant of permission, exemption notifications on forms 15 to 17, or evidence of how long the use has run.
• Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, the fire blanket and escape routes.
• Tell your insurer the property is used for paying guests.
• If the unit is an apartment, read the lease and the house rules of the owners' management company.
• Decide who will update the number on each platform the day it arrives.

If the property is not compliant

Registering with a false declaration is the one option worth ruling out. The alternatives are real: letting rooms while you live in the home, switching to stays longer than the short-term definition, applying for permission where the local policy allows it, or returning the property to a standard tenancy. Each has consequences for income, tax and your relationship with the building, and they are best weighed before December rather than after a listing disappears.

Where we come in

Hexuvium has managed short stays for owners since 2015, starting in Brussels, and registration schemes like this one are becoming the norm across Europe. If you want a second pair of eyes on your file, send us the details; we study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.