Short-Term Let Fire Safety & Insurance in Ireland (2026)

Fire Safety and Insurance for Short-Term Lets: What Is Actually Confirmed

Fire safety and insurance are two of the most-asked questions from Airbnb and short-term let hosts in Ireland — and two of the areas where the most misinformation circulates. This guide separates what is confirmed from what is not yet published, so you do not act on a rule that does not exist or miss one that does.

The single confirmed point is this: registering on Fáilte Ireland's Short-Term Letting (STL) Register will require you to confirm, by way of a legal declaration, that you meet the relevant statutory obligations — and fire safety is among those obligations. Beyond that declaration, the short-term-let-specific detail of fire-safety certification, inspection and insurance has not been published. Fáilte Ireland states that all register information is based on the current draft of the legislation and is subject to change. We have hedged accordingly throughout, and we refresh this page monthly.

For the register itself, see our short-term let register guide; for the wider regime, our new Airbnb rules in Ireland overview.

What the STL Register Requires: A Statutory-Obligations Declaration

When you register a unit on the Short-Term Letting (STL) Register — which launches on 1 December 2026 and becomes a legal obligation for all operators by 31 December 2026 — you will confirm, by way of a legal declaration, that the property meets the relevant statutory obligations. Those obligations include planning and fire safety. In other words, the register does not, on the published information, run a fire-safety inspection of your unit; it asks you to declare that you are compliant with the statutory framework that already applies.

That makes the declaration a meaningful one. A false or careless declaration is its own exposure. So the practical task for a host is to ensure the underlying compliance is genuinely in place before declaring it — which is what the rest of this guide covers. The governing legislation is the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025 (General Scheme published 17 April 2025), which is not yet enacted; the precise fire-safety fields the register will capture have not been separately published. Policy on the register and the Bill is published by the Government at gov.ie.

Fire Safety for Short-Term Lets: The General Framework

There is, at the time of writing, no separately published short-term-let-specific fire-safety code. What applies instead is the general statutory framework for accommodation premises:

• The Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, which place general duties relating to fire safety on persons having control over premises.
• Building Regulations Part B (Fire Safety), the general building-standards framework for fire safety in buildings.

These are the general laws that apply to accommodation premises — they are not a short-term-let-specific checklist, and you should not read them as one. The Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025 is expected to formalise STR-specific fire-safety requirements when enacted, but those specifics have not been published.

Good-practice fire-safety checklist (not a short-term-let-specific legal list)

The following is well-established fire-safety good practice for guest accommodation. It is presented as good practice and a sensible baseline — not as a published short-term-let-specific statutory list. Take professional advice for your particular property:

• Working smoke alarms on each level, tested regularly.
• A working carbon-monoxide alarm where there is any fuel-burning appliance (boiler, stove, gas hob, open fire).
• Clear, unobstructed escape routes and a clearly understandable way out.
• A fire blanket in the kitchen and an appropriate fire extinguisher where suitable.
• A simple, visible guest fire-safety notice showing the exit route and the emergency number.
• Servicing of fuel-burning appliances by a competent person.

None of the items above should be read as a short-term-let-specific legal mandate with a prescribed specification — that detail has not been published. They are the kind of measures any responsible operator of guest accommodation would expect to have in place, and they are the kind of evidence that supports a good-faith statutory-obligations declaration. General workplace and contractor chemical-safety duties are administered by the Health and Safety Authority.

Insurance for Short-Term Lets in Ireland

Operators are expected to hold public liability insurance for guest accommodation. The single most important practical point is this: check that your policy explicitly covers paying guests and short-term letting. Many standard home-insurance policies exclude short-term and paying-guest use, which can leave a host uninsured for exactly the scenario that matters. Confirm cover in writing with your broker before you let.

No short-term-let-specific statutory insurance minimum has been published, so we deliberately do not quote a required sum — anyone stating a specific legal minimum for STR insurance in Ireland is going beyond what has been published. The sensible approach is: appropriate buildings and contents cover that permits paying-guest use, plus public liability cover sized to your property and exposure on your broker's advice.

For context on the contractor side: Optus Glean carries €6.5M public liability and €13M employer's liability insurance as the cleaning contractor that services a unit. That is our cover as your contractor — it is not a statement of what a host is legally required to hold, and it does not replace your own host insurance.

What We Don't Yet Know (and Won't Guess)

This is the honest position: the general fire-safety and insurance framework applies now, the register will ask you to declare compliance with statutory obligations, and the short-term-let-specific detail is expected to be set by the Bill once enacted. Treat any source that states precise STR fire-safety certificates or insurance minimums today with caution — those figures have not been published.