Nationwide rent controls planned as Government looks at higher landlord fines

The Government has announced a package of rent controls as the Housing Minister said that rents in Ireland are “way too high”.

Existing rent controls for areas of high demand will be extended across the country.

Rent pressure zones (RPZs) apply to areas of high demand and cap rent increases at 2% per year.

The RPZ system, due to expire at the end of the year, has in effect been extended nationwide and sees all existing tenancies in Ireland come under a 2% cap or inflation, whichever is lower.

Rent increases in new developments will be capped by inflation and not the 2% cap to incentivise new development of apartments.

Housing Minister James Browne said that financial investors “won’t even look at Dublin” because of the 2% RPZ cap.

Asked whether these proposals would reduce average rent costs in Ireland, Mr Browne said he expected rents “to fall over time” but would not comment over what time period this would happen.

“This is not being presented as a silver bullet. This is to strike a balance, to bring clarity and to bring certainty,” Mr Browne said.

On Tuesday, Cabinet agreed to legislate for Mr Browne’s swathe of new rent and tenancy reforms.

New tenancies created from March 1 2026 onwards will be set at market value and offer a six-year minimum rolling tenancies.

At the end of the six-year tenancy, the rent can be reset and “put back to the market”, meaning the first series of rent resets will take place in 2032.

Large landlords, defined as having four or more tenancies, will be banned from carrying out no-fault evictions for tenancies beginning from March 1 2026.

A small landlord can end tenancies via a “no fault eviction” in limited circumstances, such as economic hardship or to move a family member in, but if they do that, they cannot reset the rent.

“If there is a dispute between a landlord and a tenant on what the market value is, they can go to the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) for adjudication,” Mr Browne said.

“A tenancy of minimum duration of six years is a real leap forward for tenant protections in return for allowing landlords to reset rent.”

The Department of Housing said that all landlords can end a tenancy where there is a breach of tenant obligations or where the dwelling is no longer suited to the tenants.

The Department also said that all landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy, unless a “no-fault eviction” occurs.

“Resetting of rents will not be allowed following a no-fault eviction. Rent resetting will only be allowed where a tenant leaves a tenancy of their own volition or has breached their tenant obligations,” Mr Browne said.

“Resetting of rents will not be allowed during any tenancy created on or before 28 February 2026 due to the uncertainties it would cause for tenants with existing tenancies.”

Asked about who would police whether the ban on resetting rents except in the case of no-fault evictions is being adhered to, Mr Browne said it would be the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

“I would hope that people will report landlords who are breaking the law in this respect,” he said.

He said he was engaging with the Attorney General on what level of fines can be imposed on landlords for breaking eviction rules.

He said they should be “higher” and “substantial” but there are limits in increasing fines before it crosses into the jurisdiction of the courts.

He said he would also “like to see” a rents register that would bring transparency to what a property had charged in rent previously.

“Our rents are way too high in this country, we know that. We know the only way to address that is increasing supply, so we have more competition, and then you will start to see rents go down.”