Leitrim councillor calls for changes to short letting regulations for Airbnb

Leitrim Councillor Brendan Barry is calling on short term letting rules to be amended int he county, restricting companies like Airbnb operating here.

The number of properties that are unavailable for long-term rent due to their use as Airbnb’s in the region is an issue, according to the Sinn Féin Councillor.

“There is a certain amount of houses there that would be useful for that purpose, but I think the amount of houses that are available on short-term lets at the moment is too high, and I think that we need to get those shifted over towards families and people so that they can live in them full-time,” Cllr Barry told Ocean FM.​

“The way I'm looking at it is we have thousands of people in this country now living in emergency accommodation, living in hotels permanently, families and that living in hotel rooms, and we have visitors and tourists then living in houses under short-term lets. And I suppose, in my opinion, I think that that's wrong. That we should have visitors and tourists staying in hotels and we should have families living in houses,” Said Cllr Barry.

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The south Ballinamore district councillor has inquired about the number of properties being used for Airbnb that have the relevant permissions to be used for short-term letting.

“It should be discouraged, all the short-term lets and I suppose the amount of houses, if you look up the Airbnb website, that is available for short-term lets in County Leitrim is very high, and with so many people looking to find houses, I think that it should be discouraged.”

​“I would hope that people would be able to make money from letting them to a family, which should be a better source of income than just having short-term lets, and I think that the houses when they are so desperately needed, should be used for families who need to live in them instead of having families and children being brought up living in hotels. “

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