DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has agreed to back a measure that will see lock boxes removed from public realm spaces.

It means that from 14 April, such lock boxes will be banned from public areas across the capital.

Often used for short-term rentals such as Airbnb, they are increasingly being used across Dublin and Europe to store accommodation keys for short-term rentals.

They allow property owners to provide a key to the renter without having to meet them in person. Some Airbnb owners attach the lock boxes to the likes of bike stands and street signage poles. The renters are given a code which allows them to open the lock box and retrieve the key for the accommodation.

But a crackdown on this practice will take effect from the middle of next month after councillors agreed tonight to pass the measure at the meeting.

The attaching of these lock boxes to permanent infrastructure such as poles was never authorised by Dublin City Council.

Now, under the Roads Act, the council has the power to remove them from the street.

The move comes shortly after Paris followed the lead of a number other French cities in banning the use of key lock boxes in public spaces.

Council report

At last night’s meeting, councillors approved a specially commissioned report by DCC which had noted that there are a “number of issues with the use of lock boxes in the public realm”, such as posing a “trip hazard” and impeding footpaths.

It also found that in many cases, there are a large number of these lock boxes on same piece of public realm infrastructure.

DCC also noted that the lock boxes are sometimes “left lying on the ground without any protection, resulting in a public health issue as they may become contaminated” over time.

Labour councillor Dermot Lacey was among those supporting the measure at tonight’s meeting.

Lacey spoke to The Journal about the lock boxes last year, when he said they “assist in the proliferation of Airbnb” which result in further shortages in the housing market.

Welcoming the move, Lacey said the lead-in time for the removal of the lock boxes is a “fair” decision given tourists arriving into Dublin over the coming weeks may not be aware of the change.

As part of the measure, the council will now contact online short-term rental providers such as Airbnb to inform them of the change and request that they inform their clients of the new policy.

The city authority will also urge the short-term rental providers “to encourage more effective controls on access to properties” as part of this.

In addition, it will start a communications campaign advising that under the Roads Act, lock boxes placed in the public realm will be “removed and destroyed” after 14 April.