An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-26
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Paul Nicholas Gogarty (IND), Dublin Mid-West

The run-up to the Residential Tenancies Act 2026 was overshadowed, as we debated, by a massive increase in evictions. We will see if the Act delivers stronger protections going forward. In the meantime, I will highlight again a loophole that becomes more attractive now. It concerns overcrowding and refurbishment. Overcrowding complaints still fall under the Housing Act 1966 and the 2019 housing standard regulations, and not the new legislation. The definition of "unsuitable for habitation" is quite broad. In a tight rental market, tenants currently stay silent about poor conditions. With landlords able to reset rents after refurbishment, there is a real risk that some will seek out inspections and use any issue as grounds for substantial renovation, such as extra rooms, and then hike the rents once the original tenants have moved on. I know those tenants have first refusal but the landlord can offset the cost of the works by resetting the rent and refilling the property. Will the Government enact legislation to defeat this loophole?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26