Call for action as Mayo rental supply is dwarfed by short-term lets

According to a new analysis from national housing charity Threshold, Co. Mayo is among the areas most affected by the growth of short-term holiday lets, with 14 short-term properties listed for every home available to rent.

The figures highlight the scale of the imbalance in the local housing market, where 350 properties are currently listed for short-term letting compared with just 25 homes available for long-term private rent.

Across Ireland, the analysis shows that over 8,600 full properties are listed as short-term lets by multi-property hosts compared to fewer than 2,100 homes advertised for rent nationwide.

The data, compiled using information from Inside Airbnb and Daft.ie, excludes hosts with only one listing and properties unsuitable for long-term renting, meaning the real number of short-term lets is likely even higher.

Threshold said the figures underline that addressing the housing crisis is not just about building new homes but also ensuring existing homes remain available for long-term residents.

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Threshold CEO John-Mark McCafferty said the imbalance between short-term lets and available homes poses a serious threat to communities.

“Housing is a national emergency, and in an emergency we must use every policy lever available to increase supply,” he said. “This means protecting existing homes so they are available to rent long-term for families and people who need somewhere secure to live.”

He warned that some communities are at risk of losing their permanent populations.

“In several counties the imbalance is far more extreme,” he said. “These are communities at risk of being hollowed out, where homes sit empty or underused for parts of the year while workers and families cannot find anywhere to live.”

The organisation is calling on the Government to strengthen the regulation and enforcement of short-term letting rules. Among its proposals is restoring a previously proposed planning rule that would have restricted new short-term lets in towns with populations over 10,000 people.

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That threshold is now set to increase to 20,000, a move Threshold says could have a significant impact on rural counties such as Mayo where housing shortages are already acute.

Under new European regulations, all short-term lets must be registered with Fáilte Ireland from May 20, 2026, with a unique registration number required for advertising on online platforms.

While Threshold welcomed the move as a step toward greater transparency, the charity warned that registration alone will not return homes to the long-term rental market without strong enforcement of existing planning rules.

Currently, property owners are required to obtain change-of-use planning permission to convert a residential property into a short-term tourist let. However, Threshold says compliance appears extremely low, noting that between 2019 and 2025 just 426 planning applications were made nationwide for such conversions.

The organisation said it plans to work with the Government to strengthen enforcement and ensure housing policy protects long-term communities, particularly in rural counties like Mayo where the shortage of rental homes is becoming increasingly severe.