An Airbnb landlord has said she plans to take her property off the market because of the “astronomical” costs of the Government’s new rules. 

In a bid to encourage more home owners to rent out their property to long-term tenants, the Government has announced a series of new measures that will come into force next spring. 

Short-term landlords must apply for planning permission from their local authority and then register it with authorities. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Airbnb landlord Lorna Cahill said she has been renting out her granny flat in County Clare on Airbnb for nine years. 

 Ms Cahill has four children and made the decision to rent out the property when she became a stay at home mother. 

“Within a couple of years we quickly realised that it was just impossible,” she explained. 

“We just couldn’t manage. 

“So, my eldest daughter, she was going off to train as a nurse and we were paying student fees, accommodation - everything - for her. 

“It just got to the point where we hit a major wall and we thought we’ll have to do something. 

“But I still wanted to remain in the home with the two wee boys.” 

An Airbnb App on an iPhone. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Ms Cahill said the income from Airbnb has been “absolutely life changing” and given her “huge purpose” over the years. 

The money has paid for her children’s third level education and she does not believe the property is suitable for a long-term tenant. 

“It’s a lovely place to stay over the summer months - fabulous,” she described. 

“It is not somewhere where somebody would want to be in long-term, particularly in the winter months. 

“It’s very small; there’s no storage, there’s no washing machine, no drier. 

“There’s none of those essentials.” 

Reforms

Over the summer, the Department of Enterprise and Tourism said it was aware of the “genuine concerns” of the tourist industry, while noting that the Government planned to use “every lever available” to get more property let out to long-term tenants. 

“I am not part of the makings of the housing crisis,” Ms Cahill argued. 

“My property was never in the long-term market and it will never go into it. 

“I am not part of the solution.” 

To continue letting out her property on Airbnb, Ms Cahill would have to apply for planning permission but fears she would have to spend thousands for her granny flat to meet the standards of a commercial property.

“The cost would be astronomical if I have to make changes to the septic tank, to be fire compliant, if I have to be building reg compliant and if I have to go for change of use or commercial planning,” she said. 

“The cost would probably be two years of my income… My doors will be closed on 20th May. 

“I will no longer be operating.”

Main image: A lockbox which gives access to nearby short-term let accommodation. Picture by: Alamy.com.