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Majority of revenue on Airbnb comes from rentals which will be hit by new laws

Data scraped from site shows widespread use of ‘domestic’ units as short-term lets.

NEW DATA SCRAPED from the Airbnb platform in May and revealed exclusively to
TheJournal.ie suggests that the majority of revenue generated on the platform comes from rentals that will be deemed ‘commercial’ under new legislation due to come into force on Monday.  

Those are houses and apartments rented for more than 90 days per year, rather than people sharing their own homes.

Inside Airbnb, a New York-based data project, uses modelling to create estimates of the number of days a property has been booked on Airbnb, based on the number of reviews of that property.

This is the first time they have released nationwide data for Ireland and Inside Airbnb will publish a report in conjunction with housing activists at the Irish Housing Network on Monday. 

The data, as analysed by TheJournal.ie, suggests that around 4,978 ‘entire homes’ on the platform appear to have been rented out for more than 90 days – a good indicator that the host is not living in the property and one that will be used in the new legislation to label such a let as a commercial venture.

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Whether the new legislation will be enforceable is another matter, discussed in detail by a recent investigation by Noteworthy.ie.

The impact of prolific Airbnb-listed properties on the Irish rental market has been a point of discussion and debate for some time.

“Airbnb is built on the principles of making communities stronger and spreading tourism benefits to local families and businesses,” says a spokesperson for the platform.

“Many Irish families use Airbnb to share their homes and boost their income, and over half of Airbnb hosts in Ireland say that they use the income from hosting to help make ends meet.”

The data

Inside Airbnb bases its estimates on one in every two guests leaving a review and on three-night average stays. 

Airbnb questions the validity of Inside Airbnb data – but since the platform doesn’t share its own data publicly, the only available information comes from third-party estimates. 

The data suggests an estimated total revenue of €191 million generated for Airbnb in the year up to 12 May 2019 with €110 million of that coming from ‘entire home’ properties rented for more than 90 days.  

“It is the business interest of platforms like Airbnb to take commercial advantage of inadequate government regulation,” says Michelle Connolly, a spokesperson for the Irish Housing Network. 

The data also suggests that 529 ‘entire homes’ on Airbnb in Galway, covering both the city and county areas, were rented for more than 90 days.

Some of those are certainly purpose-built holiday homes but many are also residential homes which have been converted to businesses in breach of planning law. 

In Galway city, residents have been evicted to make way for short-term let businesses, claims Karina Timothy, the manager of the Threshold housing advice charity in the area.

“Tenants have been served notice, who subsequently discovered that their home was then being used as an Airbnb letting,” she said. 

Galway city centre: An ‘Airbnb town’

In the Dun Aengus housing complex on the Docks in Galway, on a Sunday in May, TheJournal.ie observed an elderly American couple trying to access their Airbnb apartment.

First, they struggle to find the right door because their information doesn’t include a flat number; then, once they find their Airbnb apartment, they can’t get in. 

Eventually, they phone their accommodation provider and follow the instructions. It turns out that the electronic keypads are activated when the palm of a hand is placed in front of the screen.

A code can then be entered, which unlocks the door. Some 10 of the apartments in the residential complex feature the same electronic keypads.

A young woman walks through the complex; she says she works for a company that rents two homes in Dun Aengus on Airbnb.

Elsewhere, uniformed cleaners are cleaning out an apartment – which the next-door neighbour says is rented out on a short-term basis year-round. 

On the Galway City Council planning database, there is no record of any applications to convert the residential homes in Dun Aengus into holiday-let businesses. 

The problem is particularly acute in the Long Walk area, which runs from the Spanish Arch along the Docks and in the adjacent Dun Aengus apartment complex, according to Galway resident Dara Vaughan.

He says that he was evicted from a shared house in the Long Walk area of the city last December.

The neighbouring houses on both sides of where he lived were already being used as short-term lets, and Vaughan believes that he and his housemates were cleared out to make way for a holiday-let business. 

“The dogs on the street know about it,” he says. “The city centre is an Airbnb town.”

Since being evicted from the property in the Long Walk, he has had to move out of Galway city to secure accommodation.

According to the data collated by the Irish Housing Network and Inside Airbnb, some 7% of private rental stock in the Galway City Central Local Electoral Area is being used by commercial Airbnb operators.

As well as examining properties let for more than 90 days, the activists included Airbnb hosts with two or more entire homes on the site under their definition of commercial operators.

Labour Councillor Niall McNelis says he knows Galway residents who have been evicted to make way for short-term let businesses in the city and he has raised the issue repeatedly in the council.

“It’s top of my agenda to get this stopped,” he says. 

Converting a residential home to a short-term let business is a breach of planning law, but despite directives from the Department of Housing that councils should be proactive in tackling the problem, Galway City Council says that it has not stopped a single short-term let business from trading out of a residential premises.  

The council does not have a dedicated staff to carry out investigations, according to a spokesman. To bring a planning enforcement case the council has to go to court, and it can be very difficult to get enough evidence to secure a conviction, he adds.

But the council is spending €250,000 per month on homeless accommodation including hotels and B&Bs, says McNelis.

“I can’t understand how we are bringing enforcement action over people’s signage – but we are not able to go after something like this,” he says. 

The prevalence of short-term let apartments in the Dun Aengus complex is not unusual, according to McNelis.

You walk around Eir Street, the Latin Quarter, the West End, you will see the key boxes on the doors.

There are more short-term let businesses in Galway too, he says, operating through other platforms including Booking.com. 

Airbnb didn’t respond in time for publication to queries regarding evictions of residents in Galway to make way for short term let businesses. 

New Regulations

Regulations aimed at stopping people from converting residential homes to short-term let businesses are due to take effect from 1 July.

According to the new rules, all of those commercial Airbnb operations in the Rent Pressure Zones will need to apply for planning permission.

The Irish Housing Network welcomes the new regulations but queries whether they can be enforced.

“The planned Irish regulations do not include the appropriate compliance and enforcement tools that have been proven internationally to limit short-term rental activity to planned use,” says Connolly of the Irish Housing Network. 

There are no consequences for failing to register and no measures in place to force compliance with the new rules, she says.

With the regulations set to come into effect on Monday 01 July, homesharers are required to register with their council. Galway City Council said on Friday that it had received one registration form so far. 

The housing activists also argue that much of the ‘private room’ rental on Airbnb is commercial in nature and could be impacting the supply of residential rooms available to rent. 

They defined hosts with three or more listings for private rooms as being ‘commercial’ and estimated that those private rooms generated around €15m (8%) of Airbnb’s total income.

Some of those might be approved guesthouses who use Airbnb to advertise but many appear to be residential homes.

The new regulations should also apply nationwide, says Connolly. “The data suggests that short-term lets are negatively impacting some rural areas, particularly in tourist destinations in western counties such as Clare and Kerry. ” 

According to the data collated by the Irish Housing Network and Inside Airbnb, in the South and West Kerry Local Electoral Area, more than 50% of private rental stock is made up of ‘commercial’ Airbnb houses.

While some of these are likely to be purpose-built holiday homes, residents and employers in Dingle have complained about the number of residential properties being converted to short term lets. 

An An Bord Pleanala ruling in 2016 found that converting residential homes to businesses was a breach of planning law.

The Department of Housing says that the existing planning rules will still apply outside of Rent Pressure Zones after the regulations come into effect.

The Irish Housing Network says they would prefer not to rely on scraped data and called on Airbnb to publish their data.

Airbnb did not respond in time for publication to questions as to how much of their revenue stream comes from entire homes rented for more than 90 days or why they don’t publish data. 

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
    Favourite Jim Buckley Barrett
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:14 PM

    Government doing everything as usual to tax the people to death, yet no sign of the social housing they keep talking about

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    Mute Bull McCabe
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:51 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: Your living in a country that’s ran by wealthy silverspoon in their mouth moron’s that don’t care! The majority of people want to buy or build a house and have a family. The system we’re in rapes the working man that wants to lead an honest life. People that can’t/don’t want to work are housed for nothing while the working man made to pay for it all is abused!

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:38 AM

    @Bull McCabe: what’s keeping you here then? The canaries are tax free, maybe you could move there – I know, then you would have to come up with new ways to complain.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:25 PM

    @Bull McCabe: Almost every major city in the world is looking to curb Air bnb because of the shortage of properties for locals. This isn’t a conspiracy. This is an international issue.

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:20 PM

    A gang of eight of us rented a 5 bed house twenty minutes outside killarney a few weeks ago. 840euro, for two nights. Why would they bother with long term letting if they can make that in one weekend?? Now the benefit of it was it cost us 40euro a head per night which is great value but it doesn’t help the housing situation. As humans we naturally live a bargain and value for our money but at what cost?
    Air Bnb is a significant problem which has to be addressed and at least this seems to be a start.

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:24 PM

    *naturally love

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:26 PM

    @Hardly Normal: 50 euro, should have proof read it.

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    Mute Paraic
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:52 PM

    @Hardly Normal: So in summary, you and your 7 friends availed of good value accommodation, which benefited you, your friends and the person letting. All involved were happy. But it should be abolished.

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    Mute John R
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:25 PM

    @Paraic: Oh simply a perfect response! And so true. Such moral posturing. It’s supply and demand that’s the problem and the state is trying to regulate supply. It’s embarrassing.

    AirB&B isn’t the problem. The problem is an insufficient supply of housing. Coercion of those who wish to rent their houses and apartments to a clientele who are temporarily visiting is not the solution. It is simply politicking of the worst form. The illusion is a solution in pursuit of votes. Build the houses to match demand. We can actually do this but it would require tackling deeply embedded vested interests throughout society. It’s so much easier to go after the bogey man.

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    Mute M
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:43 PM

    @Hardly Normal: fascinating.

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    Mute Gareth Harpur
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:52 PM

    @Paraic: Yeah..basically, As a renter I find nothing wrong whatsoever with someone wanting to rent a room out in their own house on a short term basis, nothing wrong with it at all. But I have a huge problem with property owners renting out full properties for the very reasons outlined in this article. It pushes up the prices of long term, or what use to be known as normal, rental properties. Along with the change to bedsit rules a few years ago, this is actually a big part of the housing problem in Dublin/Cork/Galway/Limerick and other parts of the country

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    Mute Gareth Harpur
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:56 PM

    @John R: Actually Airbnb is part of the problem because by it’s very nature, it reduces the supply of long term rentals on the market…something you pointed out in your own comment…

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    Mute Shane McGettrick
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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:32 AM

    @Gareth Harpur: spot the landlords huh! Having had an apartment sold from under me and repurposed as a short term rental property albeit in the North of England it’s blindingly obvious that this kind of thing is going to negatively affect supply of long term rental units. The only practical difference between long and short term leases from a landlords POV is just the hassle attached, but the fianacial incentive is obvious.

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    Mute sVRCsaSg
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    Jul 1st 2019, 1:26 AM

    @Gareth Harpur: true but airbnb also increases tourism from abroad and retains Irish tourists who would otherwise go abroad on cheap flights to Europe where prices are much more competitive. This benefit in tourism supports many jobs and our economy. This in turn reduces the unemployment burden on the social systems and also increases tax revenue for the exchequer, a boost which could build social/affordable housing or infrastructure to open up more areas to private development which would tackle the supply issue without hurting the economy.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:35 AM

    @sVRCsaSg: Source?

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    Mute sVRCsaSg
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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:06 AM

    @Niamh Kenneally: what do you mean source? It’s basic economic theory and psychology of supply and demand, push and pull factors, competitive pricing, and the logic of money in and money out.
    I didn’t read and regurgitate all that information, I came to it thought critical logical thought.
    Is there any part in particular you’re not convinced of?

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:47 AM

    @Paraic: ya because it took away a house from a family that needs it.

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:47 AM

    @M: as is your response

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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Jul 1st 2019, 11:07 AM

    @sVRCsaSg: Airbnb is not proven to increase tourism nor is it proven to retain domestic tourists. if you are going on a hunch, fair enough, but this is by no means common sense. You’d need some sort of validation here. Otherwise it is just a claim. Tourism benefits the economy, true, but airbnb exists in most European cities and has a similar effect on housing there as well (examples are Berlin or Lisbon), all the while being cheaper than Ireland. You lost me at teh unemployment burden being reduced, as I dont see the connection between a citizen making money off tourism increases and unemployment costs to the tax payer. Particularly when the point we are discussing is tax evasion by illegal business practices. Just declare it as a business, pay your fair share in tax, and bobs your uncle.

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    Mute sVRCsaSg
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    Jul 1st 2019, 11:20 AM

    @Julian Friesel: I agree they should be taxed as a business if they are running it as a business. But I don’t see why I need a citation for some common sense reasoning. All I’m saying is price is a factor for people when deciding where to go on holidays, airbnb increases competition which drives price down. I could get citations for both these principals if you don’t believe them but I don’t see why the reasoning is incorrect just because I haven’t cited an academic article on this exact topic?
    Yes Berlin and Lisbon are cheaper but obviously if a weekend away in Galway is €3000 while one in Lisbon is €500 more people will choose galway. If you reduce galway to €1000 more people will choose it even though the others are cheaper. Yes these figures are exaggerated to demonstrate this point.

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    Mute sVRCsaSg
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    Jul 1st 2019, 11:23 AM

    @Julian Friesel: and how can you not see a connection between citizens making money from tourism and reduced unemployment? Increases in tourism boost the economy, a boosted economy provides more jobs, more jobs means less unemployment and more tax revenue?

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:10 PM

    @sVRCsaSg:
    I’d like to see your source that correlates a boost in tourism with increase in Air bnb properties and then how that increase in the money in the economy is more advantageous than the real-terms decrease working renters have experienced due to this rental crisis and spiralling rents please?

    The boost we need is to have more affordable rental accommodation in all our cities, which we don’t have and Airbnb has contributed massively to that.
    Just check in your area how many places are available to long-term renters and then take a look at Air bnb – all properties that could ease the pressure on the market but are instead solely for tourists.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:13 PM

    @sVRCsaSg: Do you not think your fellow citizens deserve fair rentals over tourists?

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:16 PM

    @sVRCsaSg: You don’t seem to understand that there are literally hundreds of jobs left unfilled because people are unable to take them up because they can’t get rental properties at a cost that’s fair? And I’m not talking only minimum wage workers struggling, people on good money can’t find places to live. Air bnb keeps many many properties out of reach of anyone but tourists. Maybe you think that’s sustainable and fine but there’s a good reason every other major city is trying to get rid of Air bnb – the exact same reasons. It’s not a conspiracy by The Man.

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    Mute @Kevinro1980
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:23 PM

    A builder bought an old house on my street last year. Built a new house in the garden and sold it. He kept the old house but renovated it to a high standard. It is now used full time for Airbnb. This is taking away from the rental market which is in high demand in the area. The idea of Airbnb was that people would rent out rooms in their private homes not use 3 bed houses solely for short term lets. It is a major factor in the high rentals in the city.

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    Mute Paraic
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:54 PM

    @@Kevinro1980: He added a house to the national stock and renovated an old house to modern standards. Stone him

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    Mute John R
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:35 PM

    @@Kevinro1980: Are you serious? He built a house and rented it to a different clientele. And you think this is a significant contributor to the lack of houses? It isn’t. Why do you think he build a house and rented it on AirB&B? Do you think that banning this will encourage him (or her) to build more houses? It won’t. Quite the opposite. The problem is much much deeper. This is not a solution at all. It is moral posturing of the highest order.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:37 AM

    @John R: Would you have an issue with all the new builds in your city or town being solely luxury developments for the rich? You probably would I’m guessing. Same issue. If you were a renter you’d know what a problem Air BnB really is.

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    Mute John R
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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:53 AM

    @Niamh Kenneally: Niamh but all new builds aren’t being taken by “the rich”. It’s a straw man argument. AirB&B is just a small component of the market and it exists for a reason. I don’t have an issue with the regulation of the sector but this is a ban disguised as regulation and will put people who rent their properties to tourists, many of whom regularly return to these properties, out of their preferred business and simultaneously damage tourism. The problem in the housing market is supply. Not enough houses are being built. This policy is not radical. It is the appearance of action and will solve precisely nothing. The solution to the housing problem requires radical state intervention to address market failure but we don’t do radical in Ireland it appears. We do incrementalism.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:24 PM

    @John R: How is an analogy you didn’t understand a “straw-man argument”? I didn’t say all new builds are for the rich, i said imagine if they were then you’d have an issue with making average-priced places available too. It was an example.
    Air bnB literally didn’t exist a few years ago so why all the weeping and wailing about the poor people who wouldn’t be able to do it anymore?

    We need regulation. Hotels need to meet health and safety standards, plus public liability insurance, undergo regular inspections on their buildings, their fire safety and their hygiene standards. And then idiots wonder why they cost more than the room Johnny down the road rents out with none of those regulations. You get robbed while in an Airbnb, you get an electric shock because the wiring was faulty, any of the million things that can go wrong and tell me who’s responsible for it? Air Bnb iss literally just an app people rent their rooms through, They are not an agent and they do not bear any more responsibility for your safety than Gumtree does if you rented a room from that app.

    It’s a simple fact that Air bnb greatly reduces the housing supply to the detriment of the local population. That is unarguable.

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    Mute Johnny Farrell
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:11 PM

    No Airbnb no new landlords ….well done politicians…

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    Mute jackbello
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:59 PM

    @Johnny Farrell: because of course we all love landlords – there are so generous , and even tho they scoop up a massive amount of property from the market and thus compete with wanna be home owners ( as opposed to ‘investors ‘ ), they are a totally harmless feature of the modern Irish property market and in nooooo way contribute to the bubble.

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    Mute John R
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:31 PM

    @jackbello: There isn’t a bubble in the housing market. There is the opposite of a bubble which appears to have escaped you entirely. We have a “burst bubble”. Too few houses are being built. People are paying far more money in rent than they would pay in mortgages. So in other words people have money and want to buy something that the market, if functioning properly, should be able to provide but can’t. That’s called market failure. The solution is state intervention. The current Government policy will not increase supply. It is simply picking on an easy target; the much maligned landlord. It is simply redistributing the current limited supply. It is truly pathetic how people fall for this populist nonsense.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:32 PM

    @John R: Oh the poor landlord. It’s not like he could just rent his rooms out long-term to tenants like before Air b’n'b existed but then he wouldn’t be making massive profits. God love the poor landlord.

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    Mute Devilsavocado
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:36 PM

    Appalling that people have be ousted from apartments made for residential living just so greedy people can make more money, leaving people that are from the areas or work in the areas unable to find places to live,, about time something was done about.

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    Mute Paraic
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:58 PM

    @Devilsavocado: Appalling that greedy people want to live in people’s houses that they bought with their own money more like. Maybe drive a few social welfare recipients to the supermarket once in a while instead of hogging your the car that you bought for your own requirements.

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    Mute Paraic
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:00 PM

    @Paraic: … Your car that..

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:38 PM

    @Paraic: Airb&b was set up for people that live in a property that have an extra room to rent, can do so, helping them to make a little money on the side, when the owner is in the property and any problems can be dealt with instantly I’ve no problem with that, but when large parts of buildings are being bought up solely for short term rentals, and no owner is available when other apartment owners “that bought to LIVE in these buildings” run into problems, that is unacceptable. These buildings were made for people to live in not tourism. If you want to get into the tourist business that’s fine, purchase a house and open a B&B and make sure to adhere to all the rules and pay your taxes the way all other business in the hospitality sector have too. Otherwise kop on and respect other people :)

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    Mute Paraic
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:48 PM

    @Devilsavocado: Sorry, I disagree. If you purchase a property with your hard earned cash, you don’t necessarily do so with the sole aim of providing housing to renters. No more than when you purchase a vehicle, it should exclusively be used to provide an Uberb style service to those who don’t own their own car. What you are describing is socialism, and that doesn’t work.

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    Mute Devilsavocado
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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:04 AM

    @Paraic: yes, well I disagree with you, and so does the law, settling up a business in a residential area is a breach of planning laws, these laws are in place to protect people from multiple problems that can arise to living next door to a business, you need to get permission to do so, how would you like it if your next door neighbour tried to open up a pub in his back garden? Or how about if your neighbours a mechanic and started a garage in his front garden? Or how about if the apartment next door to you was turned into an unsupervised hotel,,, oh wait ye apparently you think that’s fine….

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    Mute Noirin Kavanagh
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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:17 AM

    @Paraic: capitalism doesn’t work, and this is a clear example of it. If people want to rent out a room in their home I have no issue but where is the social housing? In the private sector if an employee was hired to fix a problem and they failed as abysmally as our government to address the homeless crisis and the healthcare crisis they would have been sacked long ago. Instead our lot retire with wonderful pensions while the mess has even gotten worse. We can blame business men for taking advantage of an opportunity, or we could hold the government to account. I’d opt for the latter.

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    Mute sVRCsaSg
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    Jul 1st 2019, 1:36 AM

    @Noirin Kavanagh: I don’t get how incompetence is capitalisms fault? If the market was totally free to solve this problem it easily could. The problem is it might cause other problems that planning aims to prevent. But we can’t put the free market in chains with taxes and excessively regulation (zoning rejections, height restrictions, car space requirements and renewable energy requirements just to name a few) and then turn around and blame the market for not solving this.

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    Mute Bryan Yelahw
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    Jul 1st 2019, 1:55 AM

    @sVRCsaSg: The market self regulating has never worked in practice. We are recovering from the affects of banks not self regulating. Stop making excuses for greedy landlords. Most of which are scamming the taxpayer.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 3:53 AM

    @Bryan Yelahw: banks weren’t allowed to self regulate. Their poor standards and practices were enforced with a bailout.
    I’m not saying there should be zero regulation with regards to housing but I am saying that if the market was totally free we wouldn’t have a housing crisis as supply would increase faster to meet demand.
    You want to tackle “greedy landlords”? Advocate for a freer market so supply can increase and take the power to charge high rents away from the landlords.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 4:03 AM

    @Bryan Yelahw: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgxwKnH8y4
    Really good video on the topic.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:59 AM

    @sVRCsaSg: I don’t agree Podge. Deregulation usually creates additional problems. Not less. There is no such thing as a totally free market. All markets are to some degree tweaked for reasons related to the public good. That tweaking is often imperfect but it has not caused the failure in the housing market. Lack of regulation and the easy supply of money to the industry, without regard to proper risk assessment, caused a massive crash in the banks and building sectors. Banking and housing were largely self-regulated and self certified and it has been an unmitigated disaster. We now have classic market failure. The market is not responding to demand. What is required is a more radical approach and a mix of public and private investment. The industry will not recover without assistance.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:16 AM

    @John R: I wouldn’t say deregulation creates additional problems but I would say it creates different problems while solving the original ones.
    We’ll just agree to disagree that regulation has cause this issue. I think it makes perfect sense that, were regulations dropped tomorrow, people would begin building high rises in our cities and apartment blocks in housing estates to make some money buy which would increase the supply to tackle the issue. Can we not at least agree regulation is driving property prices up in San Francisco? The guy in the video is clearly being retained from adding supply through regulation.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:17 AM

    @John R: And banking and housing are two of the most heavily regulated industries with some of the most state control. I don’t understand how they’re less regulated than other markets in our society.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 10:26 AM

    @sVRCsaSg: I work in the sector. I am using my real name and profile. Self regulation is a myth. Most people may have the best intentions but those pushing for it have a different agenda.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 10:35 AM

    @Bryan Yelahw: my name has nothing to do with how valid my arguments are. And you work in the public or private housing sector? I don’t work in either and have no vested interests other than my desire to be able to put a roof over my future families head.
    Can we at least address the very specific example laid out in the video I sent? Would getting out of that man’s way and allowing him to bring multiple apartments into the market not help solve the crisis in that area of San Fran?
    With all due respect I think you have an issue with the idea of private individuals making money by building even if it helps solve the crisis.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 10:57 AM

    @sVRCsaSg: I work in taxation. It makes no odds to me who makes money but I can see through experience that most reasons given are BS. You want to believe different or you have a vested interest because there is no evidence to support your opinion.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 11:04 AM

    @Bryan Yelahw: you work in one of the areas that is holding back the market… Of course you have a vested interest in not admitting that that’s what it does. I work in the private sector that’s unrelated to housing and I’m a young man who hopes one day to own a home. I currently don’t own any property
    Set aside all ulterior motives you think I may or may not have I’m talking about it the ideas. I laid out why the markets aren’t free, you simply said they’re free and don’t correct themselves without laying out why this is. I also gave a very specific example of how regulation is stopping the crisis from being solved in San Fran which you failed to discuss in any way.
    I would invite you to lay out your points more and give me some examples as to why a freer market wouldn’t solve this issue.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:54 PM

    @sVRCsaSg: This isn’t San Francisco. We can all find particular examples. I am also a young man hoping to buy a house to live in. I don’t own any property. You have a simplistic view of a complex situation and have swallowed free market propaganda. The free market is only free for the few to make money. I am giving my opinion on the facts I see dealing with the people making money. If anything our opinions should be aligned but feel free to stick up for the reason we are both struggling to get a home.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 1:37 PM

    @Bryan Yelahw: yes but if anyone has a vested interest here it’s clearly you as more taxation and bureaucracy is better for your industry.
    And if we can both highlight examples please send me an example of where the housing supply was decreased due to the market being made more free. I can send you more examples of the converse.
    If the free market exists to make people money and it’s unleashed to it’s fullest potential what’s going to happen? People are going to build more and more until they can’t make any more money. And the reason for not being able to make more money will be because they’ve built so much that there’s no longer a demand.
    I really do think we want the same thing but for some reason you seem to be adament that nobody can solve this issue if they profit by doing so.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 1:42 PM

    @sVRCsaSg: You want examples of how the free market in practice does not work? Literally Google it. It has been extensively covered and proven. Your view is simplistic and clearly you have a vested interest in landlords making more profit than already. Civil Servants have no vested interest in landlords making more or less money. We will have jobs either way. You can choose to dismiss the facts as I see it in the actual real world but it will not solve anything.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 1:57 PM

    @Bryan Yelahw: “Google it” isn’t an example. If it’s so easy please just send me one example of a free market in housing reducing supply. Or even a wider example of free markets not solving problems.
    I don’t care either way if landlords make money. I care about the % of my income I have to pay in rent and the possibility of owning a house someday. You don’t have a vested Interest in the amount of money landlords make but you do have a vested Interest in justifying bureaucracy and taxation as it’s how you make your money.
    Finally saying you see the facts but not outlining them is just an appeal to authority which is a logical fallacy. You’re essentially saying “I know more so just listen to me, even though I can’t lay my points out and expand on them”.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 2:00 PM

    @Bryan Yelahw: how many greedy landlords you come across has no baring on how these issues are resolved.
    If you want to stop greedy landlords you can;
    A) regulate and stop them from charging high rents without increasing supply and making the problem even worse for renters.
    B) allow people to build and take away their power to charge €1,000 for a bedsit in D16

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    Jul 1st 2019, 2:15 PM

    @sVRCsaSg: Hold on you are the one making claims that less regulation leads to more supply. It is up to you to prove your claims not me. You have such a basic simplistic view of a complex situation that you are either uneducated on the subject or deliberately trying to change the narrative.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 2:49 PM

    @Bryan Yelahw: no I’m probably just uneducated. I haven’t studied this academically but was applying basic reasoning and economics (which I have studied) to it. I’ve also consumed too many arguments for free markets. Could you please help me to understand why I’m wrong? I want to believe that making something harder and less profitable to do means more people will do it. Could you please provide me with one of these many examples of free markets not working? Or an example/source of how free markets fail when compared to heavily regulated markets?

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:11 PM

    This will have a huge impact on tourism and visitors to the city and impact the local economy by removing the tourist dollar. The Government introduced legislation that killed the long term rental market and now they are about to do the same for short term rentals.

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:34 PM

    @Sean: yeah cause it’s really affected Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin, San Francisco, and New York, the poor landlords who used to rent out on Airbnb are literally starving to death.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:20 AM

    @Tim O’Brien: I said it would affect tourism if you remove thousands of short term accommodation providers. I didn’t say anything about landlords.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:40 AM

    @Sean: What it’s also affecting which is more important is bringing workers to the jobs that are available in cities because they literally cannot get affordable rental accommodation. The tourists were there long before Air bnb and will be long after. It’s only been around a few years and landlords already acting like it’s a crucial element to city life. It isn’t.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:42 AM

    @Sean: and the counter point was it hasn’t affected a whole number of other major tourist cities that have implemented air bnb control measures.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 3:36 PM

    @Sean: Yes but Tim needs to have a whine about the landlords at all costs! People make out all landlords to be children of satin himself. Most landlords are just making a living and pay extortionate amounts of Tax. Landlords nowadays are almost up there with the English landlords in19th century Ireland. Landlord properties dont fall out of the sky and like all properties have to be paid for.

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    Jul 2nd 2019, 9:38 AM

    @Sean: Many of those who use AirBnB are not tourists at all. They are people who can’t find anything else, and pay astronomical AirBnB prices to live full time in places. Landlords prefer it because they can charge a higher price and there are no leases/contracts involved.. but the people are still renting.

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    Mute den o sullivan
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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:20 PM

    Why don’t just nationalise all homes have peoples commites in each alotcate rooms Soviet style owner get pick room live in.

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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:40 PM

    @den o sullivan: Any chance in this Communist utopia there will be free lessons in grammar and how to spell properly?

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    Jun 30th 2019, 10:50 PM

    @den o sullivan: what language is that den ?

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:31 PM

    @den o sullivan: moron

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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:03 AM

    @Jason Higgins: Fellas I think that was satire

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:22 PM

    I’m pleased with this. Not only are AirB&B’s taking away from the hotel business, it’s also a contributing factor to the housing crisis in this country. The fact that these will now be taxed as commercial will discourage prospective or current landlords from investing in these properties to lease out as air b&bs.

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:42 PM

    @Anna: But is it a contributor to the housing crisis in this country? In my view it isn’t. The main contributor is lack of supply. Coercing those who own properties to supply them to long term tenants is only likely to ensure that owners will cease investing in a market where the main beneficiary is the revenue commissioners. The real solution requires far more radical thinking by the State and a far more radical intervention by the State. But gesture politics are apparently all the rage so by all means let’s pursue landlords. As for hotels? Judging by their rates they’re not suffering. AirB&B caters for those who want a different experience than that offered by hotels. It’s called supply and demand and competition. The problem in Ireland is market failure. This policy changes nothing.

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:16 PM

    Hotels are an absolute rip off in this country. #ripoffIreland. I only use Airbnb.

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    Jul 1st 2019, 12:26 AM

    @Anne: emmm, so hotels are a rip off? By any chance do you think that’s because they have to pay employees a weekly wage? Do you not think that AirB&B have an unfair advantage in not having to adhere to expensive fire health and safety rules that registered business in accommodation have too?? Do you not think that the government should be doing things to protect people in the hospitality sectors jobs against unregistered,unregulated, tax evaders?

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    Jul 1st 2019, 6:48 AM

    @Devilsavocado: hotels in Ireland are definitely a rip off, no doubt about it, especially for those travelling solo (per person sharing…is mainly only in Ireland!!) . I’ve had cheaper, nicer rooms in European capital cities than I’ve had in the back arse of Mullingar ( wedding guest or I would not have been there). They also have to pay wages in European hotels too….and in Europe
    I’ve also a better chance of good weather…added bonus. I think the government needs to do a lot more than limit Airbnb…but that’s the easier option for them

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    Jul 1st 2019, 2:29 PM

    @Anne: yes. Hotels way too expensive. Airbnb is the best when traveling in irl. Some of the houses are way nicer compare to typical hotel room. But anyway tourism is decreasing in Irl this year,thanks to VAT increase and other political factors

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    Mute Boris Becker
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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:27 PM

    Sorry to go off topic (serious concern) what ever happened to tax relief for people paying rent and why cant it be re-introduced?

    Airbnb (ive never used it) but seems like a great thing for many people travelling and what have you, under no circumstances should it be blamed for high rents and a housing crisis.

    And while Im here, Seems the working people pay this USC why cant the (dont want to work or ah ill do a few hours) people who get so many hand me outs give some money back into the system. Make them pay 1 or 2 Euro on these “Free travel cards” they all get would be a start

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    Mute Sandra Fogarty Tormey
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    Jul 1st 2019, 5:33 AM

    Air bnb have not caused the housing crisis all over the world is doing air bnb. It makes holidays affordable for families.

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    Mute Briscoe Sundara
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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:30 AM

    If we built enough homes we could have minimal homelessness, cheaper AirBnb and reasonable hotel prices. This legislation won’t address any of them. Hoteliers are the winners here.

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    Mute Lauren Halligan
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    Jul 1st 2019, 9:42 AM

    Living next door to an AirBnB apartment for the last 2 years and it’s been a nightmare. Gangs coming and going at all hours, massive parties going on all night long, vomit in the lift and litter in the corridors leading to their door.

    This legislation can’t come soon enough; the owner of the one beside us is making an absolute fortune and doubt he’s paying any tax on it!!

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    Mute This Guy
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    Jul 1st 2019, 8:52 AM

    Varadkar’s Ireland!

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    Jun 30th 2019, 11:02 PM

    Well I agree about the grammar. Standards must apply.

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    Mute Paddy Power
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    Jul 1st 2019, 10:21 AM

    Even after new law coming to effect after June. Short term companies are still doing the same business under different names. Check booking.com or short term rentals and you will find thousands of residential properties are using as commercial unit like hotels and not paying any water bills and electricity like hotels. Where is the law?

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    Mute Eileen O'Sullivan
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    Jul 3rd 2019, 10:32 AM

    Air b n b platform themselves should be made pay tax to the Irish government just as the rest of the tech sector will have to pay tax where the product is used rather than registered under e u law.

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