Airbnb wants to be able to honour bookings made before the rules change

Airbnb is in deadlock with the government over a July 1 deadline that will severely restrict short-term letting in Ireland, it emerged last night.

The Department of Housing says that it provided the home-sharing platform with “sufficient notice” of forthcoming restrictions on the amount of time for which homes can be rented each year. It also indicated that a grace period was not an option after planned regulations came into force.

Airbnb executives are understood to have requested a period in which hosts would be able to honour existing bookings while they become familiar with the changes. This would mean that the regulations would not be enforced immediately.

From July 1 homeowners can rent their entire primary residence for a maximum of 90 days in