Rental Sector
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-14
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Marian Harkin (IND), Sligo-Leitrim

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am taking it on behalf of the Department of housing and the Minister, Deputy James Browne.
On 10 June 2025, the Government approved policy measures, including modifications to rent controls, to come into effect on 1 March 2026, as the Deputy has outlined. The purpose is to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent and, at the same time, keep existing landlords in the market. The changes agreed will also provide significantly stronger tenancy protections. They are finely balanced between the interests of tenants and the need for further private investment in the rental market across the country, which the Deputy has acknowledged.
The modifications to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the Housing Agency review of rent pressure zones and potential policy options and its preferred recommendation to modify the operation of the existing rent pressure zone controls. Today, the Government approved the general scheme of the residential tenancies (amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025 for priority legal drafting to commence as the basis for bringing in new rental changes from March.
In general, after six months, a landlord may serve a notice of termination only in very clearly defined circumstances. Section 34 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides that the landlord must state in the notice of termination the reason the tenancy is being terminated, and the notice will not be valid unless that reason relates to one or more of the following: the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations of the tenancy other than the obligation to pay rent; the tenant has failed to comply with the obligation to pay rent under the tenancy; the dwelling is no longer suited to the needs of the occupying household; the landlord intends to sell the dwelling within the next nine months; the landlord requires the dwelling for their own or family member occupation; vacant possession is required for substantial refurbishment of the dwelling; and-or the landlord intends to change the use of the dwelling. In addition, all notices of termination must be copied to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, at the same time as being served to the tenant and will be invalid if not so copied.
It is worth noting that during quarter 2 of 2025, according to the most recently published statistics by the RTB, there were 14,742 new tenancy registrations, while 4,728 notices of termination were received by the RTB. This does not represent a significant increase, just less than 1%. It is also important to appreciate that not every notice of termination results in a tenancy termination taking effect. The most recent statistics available through the RTB’s profile of the register show that, since quarter 2 of 2023, the number of registered private tenancies and landlords has continually increased year on year. The figures have remained relatively static this year, with 240,798 registered private tenancies at the end of quarter 2 of 2025, representing an increase of 3.2% annually and an increase of 0.08% from quarter 1 of 2025.
The statistics reflect the constant movement in the rental sector but also that the overall number of tenancies remains steady. The Government and I appreciate that the ending of any tenancy impacts the lives of both the tenant and the landlord. Landlords can be reassured that the current tenancy termination rules will continue to apply to an existing tenancy. The March changes will not apply. A detailed communications campaign will be undertaken by the Department, in conjunction with the RTB, between the publication of the Bill and the introduction of the new legislative measures from 1 March next year.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-14