Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-12
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Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel

As somebody who rented for 16 years I know only too well the vulnerability of being a tenant. There is the lack of security of tenure and not knowing month to month if a place will remain home.
It is important to point out that this is the first time that any Government has introduced a national system of rent control, which I welcome. One of the earlier speakers said that this legislation will not fix the housing crisis.
It will not. It was never meant to fix the housing crisis because a lot of measures need to work together in tandem to support the different types of occupiers we have in houses. We have people who are in social housing and affordable housing. There are people who can buy privately and those who rent while they are waiting to try to buy a home. Of course, there are those who want to rent for different reasons as well. It is really important that those who are renting have greater certainty. It is also important that we have balance and that we incentivise investment in the sector to increase supply. The biggest answer in all of this is to be able to increase the supply of houses and apartments. No matter what any of us say, the current system is simply not serving those who need a viable and working rental sector because of a lack of supply of suitable rental accommodation. There is no doubt that we need reform. This Bill contains the reforms we need to give that greater certainty to renters and to make the sector more attractive to those who can invest in the types of homes we need.
It is good to see the Government acting decisively to shield tenants from higher market rents. Significantly, the Bill will also restrict no-fault evictions. Changes will further enhance the current provision of tenancies of unlimited duration with the introduction of rolling tenancies and the minimum duration of six years. That is a really important measure and something we should all support.
Based on this legislation, a tenant entering into a tenancy from 1 March 2026 will no longer face no-fault evictions. That is for the larger landlords. For the smaller landlords the tenants will also benefit from substantially improved tenancy protections. These along with other measures provide for a simplified national rent control. That will apply to all tenancies nationally. We know that landlords will be able to reset rents to market value between tenancies. That is viewed as critical to retaining existing landlords and to attracting new investment. We cannot have a system where landlords are exiting the market and we are not able to get new ones.
Under this legislation, rent increases in new apartments will be solely linked to inflation in order to provide certainty and clarity and to encourage investment. That will really help to significantly increase the number of rental properties available.
Some people may benefit from the current system and naturally be resistant to change. While always have to think about the common good, the current system is simply not working for renters or for potential landlords. Doing nothing is simply not an option. That was made very clear by the Housing Agency report. These changes need to be made now to provide for national rent controls to replace RPZs. Tenants need to be protected and the sector needs certainty. That is why this legislation is being proposed today and that is why I support it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:37+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-12