Legislative restrictions on short term letting must be tightened to ensure that the already high rents in Galway do not “spiral out of control”.
This is the view of the Social Democrats’ Galway City East councillor, Owen Hanley, who is calling on the Government and Galway City Council to “work together” to create a well regulated sector and a market which prioritises “homes for people with affordable rents and affordable prices”.
In 2019, short term letting regulations were introduced to regulate and oversee the practice. Exemptions exist for those renting rooms in their primary home or tenants short term letting with the home owner's consent.
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These exemptions still require registering with Galway City Council, and there were less than 50 properties registered since 2019. There are no exemptions with the short term let of a property that is not the family home of the owner. In such circumstances, planning permission is required. To date only five planning applications have been received under this measure since 2019.
Councillor Hanley noted that the effect of short term letting over the pandemic has certainly lessened, but as restrictions ease again there are concerns the negative impact of unregulated short term lets will return.
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"Enforcement has exposed a number of issues for the council,” he said. “Overall the process is slow with difficulties in determining ownership, the stop-and-start nature of seasonal usage of units, as well as the complicated ownership structure of units within large complexes. As a result, the council also shares the frustrations with the process as well."
A Parliamentary Question on the issue was submitted by the Social Democrats to the Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien. The Minister highlighted that €500,000 has been dedicated for Short Term Let Legislation implementation in Galway city, including hiring a dedicated staff member.
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However, Cllr Hanley noted that while a recruitment process took place, it did not result in a staff member taking up the role.
He is also calling for short term letting websites to be compelled to share more data with planning authorities, and he said the mindset which sees housing as an investment opportunity, rather than a home, needs to be challenged.
