Public Callout from CATU Galway: Report Illegal Short‑Term Lets!

Galway’s housing crisis isn’t going away on its own – and one of the biggest culprits is hiding in plain sight.

Across the city and county, whole houses and apartments that could be home to long-term tenants instead stand empty, snapped up by landlords chasing short-term Airbnb profits.

CATU Galway is calling on every one of us to act: report illegal short-term lets (STLs) and help restore our housing stock to families, students, and workers who desperately need it.

Why Reporting Matters in the Irish Housing Crisis

Since 2019, Irish law has required planning permission for any property let out on a short-term basis. Yet in Galway, just 81 STLs have been granted permission—only 4% of the estimated total. That leaves 96% operating illegally, with no checks on fire safety, health standards, or impact on the long-term rental market.

• 1,208 entire homes are listed on Airbnb in Galway City and County – three times the number of properties available for long-term rent according to Daft.ie.
• Landlords often earn more from a single weekend booking than a month’s long-term lease.
• Meanwhile, hundreds of families, students, and workers struggle for a dwindling stock of affordable homes.

By reporting unlicensed listings, you shine a spotlight on this imbalance and pressure the council to enforce existing planning laws – and you don’t need to be an expert. All it takes is the full address of a suspected property.

How to Report an Illegal Short-Term Let

Full instructions for reporting an STL can be found here.

1. Email Galway City Council
   Send the full address of the unlicensed property to:
   PlanningEnforcement@galwaycity.ie
2. Log it in Our Form
   We’ve set up a Google Form to track reports and build collective evidence:
   Report an STL Form
   • Fill out the form.
   • It also includes a link to check planning status in Galway City.
   • Every report strengthens our case for enforcement.

Even if the council doesn’t act immediately, each report sends a clear message: illegal STLs will not be tolerated.

Learning from Abroad—and Home

CATU Galway is inspired by Living Rent in Edinburgh. There, a similar public-reporting app helped drive down the number of entire-home listings from 14,000 in 2019 to just 7,000 by December 2023 – and saw planning objections become a powerful lever for change. While Galway doesn’t yet have an app, our grassroots reporting campaign is the first step toward the same kind of community-powered impact.

What You Can Do Today

1. Report: Email: PlanningEnforcement@galwaycity.ie with any unlicensed STL address.
2. Log: Add each report to our: Report an STL Form
3. Share: Forward this article, post the form link on social media, and encourage family, friends and neighbours to get involved.

Together, we can:

• Protect long-term housing for renters, students, and families.
• Hold Airbnb operators accountable to the same rules as everyone else.
• Ensure planning laws work to keep Galway a place where communities thrive, not just tourists stay.

Here is the link with full instructions.

Happy reporting—and here’s to reclaiming our homes!