The short-term letting register looks like paperwork for owners, but for a holiday letting agency it is a sales event. Every Irish host who lets a home, an apartment or a room for up to 21 nights must register each unit with Fáilte Ireland by 31 December 2026, show a registration number in every listing and advert, and renew every year. Many owners will not want another yearly task on top of planning questions, and the agency that explains the rules clearly in November is the one they call in December.
Key takeaways
- Hosts letting for up to 21 nights must register each unit with Fáilte Ireland by 31 December 2026 and renew every year.
- The registration number must appear in all listings and advertisements, and platforms can be ordered to remove listings without a valid number.
- The host must register personally; an agent can register only when the unit is registered for a company.
- Planning rules are stricter in cities and towns of over 20,000 people, while smaller places get two years to comply.
- An agency can use the deadline to win owners, as long as it explains the rules accurately and captures every enquiry.
On this page
What the short-term letting register is#
The register comes from the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill, which the Minister for Tourism announced on 6 October 2026, as reported by The Irish Times. Fáilte Ireland becomes the competent authority (The public body that runs the register and enforces the rules.) and will run a national register covering stays of up to 21 nights. The Bill was still going through the Oireachtas when it was published.
According to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, the register will open on 1 December and all hosts must register by 31 December 2026. Registration must be renewed every year, a nominal annual fee will apply, and the fee has not yet been published. Fáilte Ireland’s own pages say registration starts once the legislation has passed.
The running example in this guide is a holiday home management agency in Dingle. Its owner, Nuala, looks after holiday homes for owners who live in Dublin, the UK and further away. She expects calls from owners asking what the register means for them, and she wants those calls to turn into new management contracts. Agencies that want help turning that interest into enquiries can look at lead generation and CRM automation, but the steps below work either way.
Note: This guide explains the published rules for agencies. It is not legal or planning advice, and owners should check details with Fáilte Ireland or their own adviser.
Who must register, and who does the registering#
Want this done for your business? Talk to us about Lead generation & CRM automation
The scope is wide. The Fáilte Ireland FAQ says all hosts renting short-term lettings for periods of up to and including 21 nights must register, and its definition of a unit includes rooms in the host’s own home. Each unit gets a unique number, and several units can be registered at the same time.
The detail that matters most for an agency is who presses the button. The Department page says a host must complete the registration themselves, and that an agent cannot register for them unless the unit is being registered for a company. So an agency usually cannot simply register its owners’ homes in bulk. What it can do is prepare each owner so the five-minute registration really takes five minutes.
| What registration asks for | Who has it | How an agency can help |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and contact details, and the owner’s PPSN (Personal Public Service Number) | The owner | Send a checklist in advance |
| Eircode and type of unit | Owner and agency | Confirm the details for each property |
| Bed places and maximum guest numbers | Usually the agency | Provide the figures from its own records |
| Company and legal representative details | Company owners only | Explain when an agent may register |
| Confirmation of planning compliance | The owner | Point to the planning rules and an adviser |
Nuala builds a one-page checklist for her owners with these items. Her team fills in the property details it already holds and leaves the personal parts to each owner.
Planning: the question owners will ask first#
Registration requires the host to confirm that the unit complies with planning rules, and this is where many owners will hesitate. The Department page sets out the national approach:
- In cities and towns with a population of over 20,000, new planning permissions for short-term lets are restricted, and hosts must confirm compliance when they register.
- In towns of 20,000 people or fewer, hosts have two years to meet planning requirements.
- Where a home has been let short-term continuously for at least seven years with no enforcement action, there is a presumption in favour of permission, subject to conditions.
- A simplified retention permission (Permission sought after a use has already started, to make it lawful.) process under SI 500/2026 came into operation on 29 September 2026.
- Letting rooms in a principal private residence (The home where the owner normally lives.) is exempt from planning requirements, although those rooms still need registering.
Citizens Information adds that planning permission will not be granted for short-term lets in large cities and towns except in exceptional circumstances.
Watch out: An agency should explain these rules, not decide them. Telling an owner that a property is compliant without checking is a risk for both sides.
For Nuala, Dingle falls in the smaller-town group, so her owners have time to sort out planning. She still asks each one whether the property has planning permission or an exemption, and refers unclear cases to a planning consultant.
Why owners will look for a managed service#
The register adds three ongoing jobs for every owner: registering each unit, keeping the number on every listing and advert, and renewing every year. Hosts who manage one or two homes from a distance, or who already find guest messages and cleaning hard to fit in, have a clear reason to hand the whole thing to someone else.
Enforcement adds pressure. The Irish Times report says Fáilte Ireland can appoint officers to carry out inspections, enforcement includes fixed payment notices, and platforms must remove or disable non-compliant listings where required. The Department page says Fáilte Ireland can order a platform to suspend or remove a listing with an invalid or missing number.
For an agency, the message to owners is simple and honest: the agency keeps the number on every listing, tracks the renewal date and makes sure nothing slips while the owner is away.
What to change on listings, the website and Google#
The register also changes how an agency presents itself. Three places need attention before December.
Listings on booking platforms. Each managed unit’s number needs to go on every listing as soon as the owner receives it. Nuala keeps a simple table of property, owner, registration number and renewal date, so no listing goes live without a number.
The agency’s own website. Official guidance says the number must appear in all listings and advertisements, but it does not say specifically whether this covers a host’s or agency’s own website, so an agency should not tell owners it does. A clear page for owners is a different matter: what the register is, the dates, what the owner must do personally and what the agency handles. That page answers the searches owners make in November and December.
Tip: Put an enquiry form on the owner page that asks for the property’s town and type. It lets the agency reply with the right planning group straight away.
Google Business Profile. Google’s eligibility guidelines list rental properties such as vacation homes as ineligible for a Business Profile, while sales or leasing offices are eligible for verification. So the profile belongs to the agency’s office, not to each holiday home. A complete profile with services, photos and reviews from owners helps owners nearby find the agency when they search for holiday home management.
Turning register questions into new owners#
Interest only becomes business if every enquiry is answered and followed up. An agency that runs a register page, emails past contacts and answers calls will get questions from several directions at once, often from owners who are not ready to sign yet.
A simple process keeps it under control:
- Record every enquiry in one place. A CRM (Software that holds contacts, enquiries and deals in one place.) keeps the owner’s name, town, property type and where the enquiry came from.
- Reply the same day with the checklist. A useful first answer builds trust before any sales talk.
- Follow up before the deadline. A reminder in early December and again mid-December catches owners who left it late.
- Count signed contracts, not page views. Compare sources by how many owners actually signed.
Agencies choosing a CRM for this can compare costs in the Baikou guide to CRM pricing. Nuala sets her follow-ups as automatic tasks, so an owner who asked a question in November hears from her again before 31 December.
Key dates for agencies#
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 29 September 2026 | Simplified retention process under SI 500/2026 in operation |
| 6 October 2026 | Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill announced |
| 1 December | Register due to open, according to the Department |
| 31 December 2026 | Deadline for all hosts to register |
| Every year after | Registration renewed annually |
| Two years | Time for hosts in towns of 20,000 or fewer to meet planning rules |
Dates from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and The Irish Times, October 2026. The Bill was still before the Oireachtas, so dates may change.
How Baikou helps holiday letting agencies win owners from the register#
When Baikou’s team works with a holiday letting agency, it starts with the owner journey rather than the guest journey. It builds an owner page that explains the register accurately, connects the enquiry form and calls to the agency’s CRM with the source of each enquiry, and sets automatic follow-ups timed around the December deadline. Reporting shows signed management contracts by source, not just visits. The team also runs a free AI visibility check, because owners increasingly ask ChatGPT who manages holiday homes in their area, and the check shows whether the agency is named in those answers.
Where to start this month#
Write the owner checklist and the owner page first, while the questions are still new. Ask every current owner whether their properties have planning permission or an exemption, and set up a table of numbers and renewal dates for each unit. Then make sure every enquiry lands in one place and gets a follow-up before 31 December. Baikou helps Irish businesses build lead generation like this as part of its digital marketing and AI automation work.
Free Business Growth Check: see where your business can grow online in 3 minutes →
Want this done for your business?
Talk to us about Lead generation & CRM automation: HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho.
See Lead generation & CRM automationFAQ#
Can a letting agency register properties for its owners?
Usually not. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment says the host must complete the registration and an agent cannot register for them unless the unit is being registered for a company. An agency can still prepare the details and check that the number appears on every listing.
Do rooms in the owner’s own home need registering?
Yes. Fáilte Ireland’s definition of a unit includes rooms in the host’s home let for up to 21 nights. Letting rooms in a principal private residence is exempt from planning requirements, but not from registration.
How much does registration cost?
The fee has not been published. The Department says a nominal annual fee will apply and that the fee structure will be available shortly.
What happens to listings without a registration number?
Fáilte Ireland can order a platform to suspend, remove or disable a listing with a missing or invalid number. Platforms must also display numbers and carry out random checks on listings.
