No Irish law requires a specific Airbnb insurance policy, but a standard home insurance policy will usually not cover paying guests, so in practice you need a specialist short-let or landlord policy, or a written endorsement from your existing insurer, before your first booking. Airbnb's built-in host liability insurance covers up to US$1 million for guest injuries, but it is not a buildings, contents or loss-of-income policy.
The detail
The gap is in your home policy. Irish home insurance is priced for an owner-occupier, and letting to paying guests is a material change in risk that most policies either exclude or require you to disclose. If you have not told the insurer, a claim for a fire, flood or burst pipe during or after a guest stay can be refused and the policy cancelled. The same applies to a mortgage: lenders require the property to be insured on terms that reflect how it is used, so undisclosed short-letting can also breach the loan conditions.
Airbnb's AirCover does help, but in a narrower way than many hosts assume. Host liability insurance covers up to US$1 million if you are found legally responsible for a guest's injury or damage to their belongings. Host damage protection reimburses some guest damage to your home, with its own exclusions and a 14-day window to report. Neither replaces buildings and contents cover, covers wear and tear, or pays your mortgage while the property is out of action.
Insurance also matters more from this winter. Ireland's national short-term letting register, run by Fáilte Ireland, opens on 1 December 2026, and every operator letting for 21 nights or less must register by 31 December 2026 and show the registration number on every listing. The register does not itself demand proof of insurance, but it makes every host visible to the State and to insurers. Separately, letting a property that is not your principal residence in a Rent Pressure Zone requires change-of-use planning permission.
The numbers that matter
Where this stops holding
Policy wording varies widely between insurers and changes at each renewal. This page describes the general position, not any specific policy. The short-term letting register's detailed rules come from the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill, which had not been published in final form when this was written, so check Fáilte Ireland's guidance before 1 December 2026.
Sources
- gov.ie — short-term let register to come into effect from December 2026
- Airbnb Help Centre — Host liability insurance
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