Government moves to overhaul Ireland’s rental market with national rent controls and longer tenancies
New Bill introduces six-year minimum tenancies, limits no-fault evictions and replaces Rent Pressure Zones with inflation-linked national rent regulation
27 January 2026 | 📧 editor@ipropertyradio.com
The Government has approved the publication of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, a wide-ranging reform of Ireland’s rental market aimed at strengthening tenant protections while incentivising new investment to increase supply. Once enacted, the new measures will apply to all new tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026. Existing tenancies will continue under the current rules.
The Bill, published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, replaces the current Rent Pressure Zone system with a single national framework for rent regulation and introduces longer, more secure tenancies. Its legal framing draws on the Housing Agency’s review of Rent Pressure Zones, which found the existing system was not delivering sufficient certainty for tenants or confidence for landlords and investors.
National rent control replaces RPZs
At the core of the Bill is the introduction of a national rent control regime. Rent increases for all tenancies will be linked to the Irish Consumer Price Index (CPI), rather than the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). To protect tenants during periods of high inflation, annual increases will be capped at 2 per cent, applied on a pro rata basis.
For newly built apartments, rent increases will be linked solely to CPI, a measure the Government says is intended to provide long-term certainty and encourage investment in apartment construction. Existing tenancies in place on 28 February 2026 will also move to the CPI or 2 per cent cap, whichever is lower, but will not be subject to the new tenancy duration rules.
Six-year minimum tenancies and limits on no-fault evictions
For new tenancies from March 2026, the Bill introduces rolling Tenancies of Minimum Duration (TMDs) of six years. These are designed to significantly enhance security of tenure by restricting so-called “no fault” evictions.
The legislation distinguishes between smaller landlords, defined as those with three or fewer tenancies, and larger landlords or corporate owners. Smaller landlords will retain limited flexibility to end a tenancy during the six-year period in specific circumstances, such as genuine financial hardship requiring the sale of the property or where the landlord or a close family member needs to occupy the dwelling.
Larger landlords will face stricter rules. For new tenancies, they will no longer be permitted to end tenancies for reasons such as sale of the property, occupation by the landlord, substantial refurbishment, or change of use.
All landlords, regardless of size, will continue to have the right to terminate a tenancy where a tenant breaches their obligations or where the dwelling is no longer suitable to the household’s accommodation needs.
Resetting rent to market level
A key change for landlords is the ability to reset rent to market levels in defined circumstances. For new tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026, landlords may set the rent at market rate where the previous rent was below market and the tenant left voluntarily or following a breach of obligations.
Thereafter, rents may be reset to market level at the end of each six-year TMD. This provision is also intended to support the sale of properties with tenants in situ, as incoming landlords will have a mechanism to adjust rents over time.
To prevent economic evictions, rent resets will not be permitted where a tenancy ends solely to increase rent. Landlords will be required to demonstrate that the new rent reflects a fair market rate, supported by comparable properties.
New Rent Price Register
The Bill provides for the establishment of a national Rent Price Register, which will publish rental price data to improve transparency across the sector. The register is intended to support both tenants and landlords when setting or reviewing rents and will play a central role in determining whether a proposed rent reflects market levels.
Student accommodation treated separately
From 1 March 2029, providers of student-specific accommodation will be permitted to reset rents to market level, and again after each subsequent three-year period. The Government says this recognises the faster turnover of tenants in the student sector while still providing students and their families with three years of rent certainty at a time.
What landlords need to know
Landlords should note that the new rules apply only to tenancies created from March 2026. Existing tenancies continue unchanged. For new tenancies, rent increases will be limited to CPI or 2 per cent, whichever is lower, and six-year minimum tenancies will apply. Smaller landlords retain some additional termination grounds, but all landlords will need to rely on clear statutory reasons to end a tenancy.
Landlords will also need to engage with the forthcoming Rent Price Register when setting or resetting rents and be prepared to evidence market rent levels where required.
What tenants need to know
Tenants entering new tenancies from March 2026 will benefit from significantly stronger protections, including longer minimum tenancies, tighter limits on evictions, and predictable rent increases linked to inflation. Tenants of larger landlords will have the strongest protections, with no-fault evictions effectively removed for new tenancies.
The Government has described the Bill as a rebalancing of the rental market, aimed at delivering “the most robust set of tenant protections” while creating a more stable and investable framework for rental housing supply. The legislation will now proceed through the Oireachtas for debate and enactment.
