Pass the paracetamol!

The Residential Tenancies Act grows more complex with each new instalment. While some reforms are welcome, increased regulation risks driving out smaller landlords in favour of larger, better-resourced landlords who can navigate the constant changes. Dr Úna Woods checks her eviction notice

For over 20 years, successive governments have been trying to solve certain intractable problems presented by the residential tenancy sector.

The goal has been to curb rent inflation and to provide more security of tenure for residential tenants, while, at the same time, increasing the supply of rental properties by encouraging new landlords to enter the market and existing landlords to remain.

The latest legislative tinkering has produced the Residential Tenancy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, which, on 1 March 2026, added to a quagmire of complex, technical, headache-inducing rules that govern residential tenancies in Ireland.

While this article provides an overview of the latest changes in the rules governing rent increases and tenancy terminations, it is also worth mentioning that the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) ran a series of helpful webinars on this topic during the first half of March and that the RTB website (www.rtb.ie) sets out simplified, easy-to-read guidelines on the recent rental-law changes.

Castle Rackrent

Market rent: since the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 came into force, a landlord has been restricted under section 19 when entering into a tenancy to setting a rent that does not exceed the ‘market rent’.

The market rent is the amount a tenant would reasonably pay a landlord for a similar home in a comparable area at the relevant time.

Since 1 March 2026, when a landlord is setting the rent, they must be in a position to refer to three comparable properties in the area appearing on the RTB Rent Price Register.

At the start of the tenancy, a landlord is required to send a ‘rent-setting notice’ that the rent is not more than the market rent and including details of the comparable properties on a printout from the RTB Rent Price Register.

Rent-pressure zones: these were introduced in 2016 as an emergency response to spiralling rents. In what was viewed at the time as a temporary measure, a targeted response was taken so that electoral areas where the rents were rising fastest would be designated as rent-pressure zones.

Rent reviews in relation to tenancies located in a rent-pressure zone were subject to a rent-increase cap (initially set at 4%; subsequently reduced to 2%), and restrictions were set in relation to the frequency of such reviews (every 12 months).

National system: since 20 June 2025, we have moved from a rent-pressure zone approach to a national system of rent control. In a nutshell, the entire country could now be considered a rent-pressure zone.

This means that rent for private tenancies or licences of student-specific accommodation can only be increased by 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

Since 1 March 2026, the rate of inflation is calculated by reference to the Consumer Price Index instead of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices.

In a measure designed to promote the supply of rental accommodation, rent reviews of tenancies of new apartments (where building commenced after 10 June 2025) are not subject to the 2% cap, and rent increases in line with inflation are permissible.

Landlords are directed to the rent calculator on the RTB website to calculate the permissible rent increase.

For most tenancies, a rent review can only take place every 12 months (but where the tenancy was created before the area was designated a rent-pressure zone, the rent can only be reviewed two years after its creation or the last rent review and, subsequently, every 12 months).

When conducting a rent review, there are a number of procedural requirements that a landlord must observe.

They must serve a rent-review notice (90 days’ notice is required) on the tenant (and submit a copy to the RTB on the same day) and send a printout of the rent-calculator calculation and details of three comparable dwellings from the RTB Rent Register to the tenant. Finally, the landlord must notify the RTB of the increased rent when it takes effect.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

One of the more radical features of the 2026 reforms, designed to improve supply into the future, is that a landlord may reset the rent to the market rent in five specific cases:

1. When a new tenancy begins, but only if the last tenancy ended because the tenant left by choice, breached their obligations (for example, was in rent arrears), or if the property no longer suited the needs of the tenant,
2. If the last tenancy ended to facilitate substantial renovation and the landlord had offered it back to the previous tenant,
3. At the end of a six-year tenancy cycle (called a ‘tenancy of minimum duration’),
4. There was no tenancy in the property for at least two years,
5. The property is a protected structure and there was no tenancy in the property for at least one year.

For existing tenancies created before 1 March 2026, resetting to market rent is not allowed. Also, if the last tenancy ended on ‘no-fault’ grounds (for example, the landlord needed to move in or sell the property), it is not possible to reset the rent.

It is interesting that if a landlord was charging substantially below market rent in relation to an older tenancy and was locked into a situation of minimal increases once the area was designated a rent-pressure zone, there is currently no way of resetting to market rent.

For student-specific accommodation, landlords can only reset to the market rent once every three years, beginning on 1 March 2029.

The rules on when and why a landlord can end a tenancy depend on:

• Whether the first six months have expired,
• The tenancy start date,
• For new tenancies (created from 1 March 2026), whether the landlord is a small or large landlord (or a company).

During the first six months: a landlord can terminate for any reason by serving a 90-day termination notice.

Less notice is required if the tenant is in breach of his obligations. For example, if the tenant is in rent arrears, the tenant must be served with a 28-day warning notice, followed by a 28-day termination notice.

Only seven days’ notice is required if the tenancy is being terminated because of serious anti-social behaviour on the part of the tenant.

After six months: if the tenant has been in occupation for over six months, a tenant is entitled to a part 4 tenancy. The extent of the security of tenure provided by this part 4 tenancy is dependent on when the tenancy was created.

Note, however, that occupants of tenancies of student-specific accommodation do not qualify for a part 4 tenancy.

Substantive grounds: the substantive grounds on which a part 4 tenancy can be terminated depends on the date the tenancy was created.

In relation to tenancies created post 1 March 2026, the grounds also depend on whether the landlord is a small landlord (one-to-three tenancies) or a large landlord (four or more tenancies or a company landlord).

If the tenancy was created before 11 June 2022, a landlord can terminate for any reason at the end of the current six-year tenancy cycle.

Bleak House

The grounds for terminating tenancies beginning before 1 March 2026 include both ‘fault’ and ‘no-fault’ grounds. A landlord may terminate if:

• The tenant does not meet their obligations, including not paying rent (fault),
• The property is no longer suitable for the tenant’s accommodation needs (fault),
• The landlord wants to sell the property (within nine months of termination) (no fault),
• The landlord or a family member needs to live in the property (no fault),
• The landlord plans to substantially refurbish or renovate the property (no fault),
• The landlord plans to change the use of the property (no fault).

In certain circumstances, the landlord is obliged to give the tenant the right to return to the property: if the property is not sold/no longer needed for the family member or following substantial refurbishment.

Certain ‘fault’ grounds for terminating a tenancy created after 1 March 2026 may be relied on, regardless of when the landlord needs to terminate the tenancy and regardless of whether the landlord is small or large:

• The tenant does not meet their obligations, including not paying rent,
• The property is no longer suitable for the tenant’s accommodation needs.

Whether a landlord can terminate a tenancy for other reasons depends on the landlord’s size.

Large landlords (four tenancies or more): large landlords owning four tenancies or more, or operating through a company, can no longer terminate a tenancy for a ‘no-fault ground’ – that is, if they wish to sell with vacant possession, wish to substantially refurbish, or move a family member in. Large landlords must sell with the tenant in situ.

However, the Tyrrelstown Amendment allows a landlord to sell with vacant possession if they are selling over ten properties in the same development and can prove that a sale without vacant possession would be 20% lower and cause undue hardship to the landlord. Presumably, this exception would still operate.

Small landlords (one-to-three tenancies): there are some additional reasons why a small landlord can end a tenancy, both during and at the end of a six-year tenancy of minimum duration.

During a six-year tenancy of minimum duration: if a landlord owns one-to-three tenancies on the day they serve a notice of termination, they can also end a tenancy during a six-year tenancy of minimum duration if:

• They need to sell the property due to avoiding undue financial or other hardship (for example, to pay a debt or buy a home that will be a principal private residence),
• The landlord or a close family member needs to live in the property.

At the end of a six-year tenancy of minimum duration: if a landlord owns one-to-three tenancies on the day they serve a notice of termination, they can also end a tenancy at the end of a six-year tenancy of minimum duration if:

• They want to sell the property,
• They or a family member needs to live in the property,
• They plan to substantially refurbish or renovate the property,
• They plan to change the use of the property.

The landlord must serve a valid notice for the termination of a part 4 tenancy, giving the required period of notice (and including any necessary statutory declaration, statement, or other required documentation). This notice must be copied to the RTB on the same day it is served.

The notice periods (provided that the tenant is not in breach of his obligations) are, as follows:

• Tenant in occupation for less than six months: 90 days
• Tenant in occupation for less than one year: 152 days
• Tenant in occupation for less than seven years: 180 days
• Tenant in occupation for less than eight years: 196 days
• Tenant in occupation for more than eight years: 224 days

Return of the native

In the High Court decision Canty v Private Residential Tenancies Board, Laffoy J described the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 as “an extremely complex piece of legislation” and noted that certain provisions were “very technical and confusing”.

The latest instalment to the act has only added to its complexity.

Certain provisions, such as the facility to serve electronic notices and the setting up of a Rent Price Register, seem sensible.

While certain provisions are clearly designed to bolster the position of the small landlord, the increased regulation seems likely to encourage many to leave the market.

Only larger landlords, who are in a position to keep up to date with the frequent changes in the law in this area and engage in annual rent reviews, are likely to be attracted to the market.

Certain features may leave practitioners scratching their heads.

For example, while a landlord of a new tenancy, who has only three tenancies, can terminate a tenancy if they wish to sell with vacant possession or move a family member into the property, a landlord with four tenancies must sell with the tenant in situ and cannot terminate the tenancy if they need it for a member of the family.

A landlord with four tenancies or more can never sell with vacant possession, while a larger landlord who is selling ten properties in the same development may perhaps be able to terminate those tenancies if they can prove that a sale without vacant possession would be 20% lower.

It remains to be seen whether the measures taken will increase supply but, in the meantime, let’s hope that the paracetamol works!

Dr Úna Woods is an associate professor in the School of Law, University of Limerick