Key Contacts: John O’Donoghue – Partner | Elaine Whelan – Senior Associate |
On 10 June 2025, the Government announced major upcoming reforms to the rental sector. In acknowledging that rents in Ireland are “way too high”, Minister for Housing James Browne has brought forward key measures aiming to ensure better tenant protection while increasing the supply of rental homes.
The new measures are released in a context where the legislation governing rent pressure zones introduced in 2016 is due to expire at the end of the year and where the lack of housing supply appears at one of its highest level with only just over 30,000 new dwellings completed in 2024 according to the Central Statistics Office. According to the Government, the announced reforms are due to support the National Planning Framework ambitions of building 50,000 to 60,000 new homes each year.
The main measure revealed by the Government is the extension of the rent controls to the rest of the country. As a general rule, rents will be linked to inflation with a 2% cap applying in the case of high inflation. Similarly, landlords who have entered into a new tenancy arrangement on or after the 1st of March 2026 will, in principle, have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy. It is important to note that it will remain prohibited to set a rent above the market rate. Fines of landlords breaking the rental rules should be increased with the in-coming legislation.
Key distinctions have been flagged which will lead to differences of treatment based on the number of properties a landlord holds (three or fewer tenancies versus more than three tenancies) and the type of property (new build or not). Hence, the Government is hoping to put an end to the “no-fault” evictions for larger landlords (four or more tenancies) by not enabling them to terminate a tenancy where the tenant has complied with their obligations. In contrast, at the end of each six-year tenancy, a smaller landlord will have the right to terminate a tenancy due to the intention to sell, renovation of the property, the use of the property by a family member or the change of use of the property.
To allow for sufficient time to develop the necessary legislation and to communicate the changes to landlords and tenants, the Government is proposing to introduce the new arrangements from the 1st of March 2026. The draft publication of the legislation in the coming weeks should provide more information and detail as to the application of the new provisions. If enacted, these changes will amount to the most significant legislation for the private residential rental sector since the enactment of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act in 2016 which introduced rent pressure zones.
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This article was written with the assistance of trainee, Alice Djider.
