Poll: Do you think Airbnb listings should be licensed in Ireland?
There are concerns the lettings platform is contributing to the housing shortage.
OVER THE COMING weeks, a Department of Housing working group is due to publish a report on whether home-sharing websites like Airbnb need to be regulated.
Other countries have already clamped on the service. For example, Berlin ‘hosts’ can only rent out their property for half of the year. Amsterdam home-owners are limited to renting 60 nights per annum.
Sources told Fora‘s sister site, TheJournal.ie, that if the State decides to license Airbnb, it will most likely mirror the German and Dutch governments and introduce a scheme for the capital and surrounding areas only.
That would mean there won’t be a national set of rules for Airbnb, which has come under fire in recent times from politicians who believe that many listings on the site should be available on the rental market to alleviate Ireland’s housing shortage.
Although Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has raised concerns about the platform, he says he’s “all in favour” of home-sharing and that it can help many homeowners get out of arrears or pay off their mortgages.
Meanwhile, Airbnb has warned that the economic impact in Ireland of onerous regulation on its platform could be up to €500 million per year.
With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers this week: Do you think Airbnb listings should be licensed in Ireland?
