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Significant changes to Ireland’s residential rental landscape were introduced from 1 March 2026 by the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, with important implications for developers, investors, funders, and tenants.
Key headline changes for new tenancies commencing on or after 1 March 2026 include:
- Enhanced security of tenure – new tenancies are now structured as Tenancies of Minimum Duration (TMDs), typically lasting 6 years, with more limited grounds for termination.
- Restrictions on termination – “no fault” terminations are largely curtailed, with different statutory termination rights for large landlords (4 or more tenancies or companies) and small landlords (1-3 tenancies).
- National rent control regime – Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) have been replaced by a nationwide system capping annual increases at 2% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI) (whichever is lower).
- New-build carve-outs – to stimulate supply, annual rent increases for certain newly constructed apartments and Student Specific Accommodation (SSA) are linked to CPI with no 2% cap.
- Market rent resets – permitted in defined circumstances (e.g. between tenancies or at the end of a 6-year TMD cycle) with SSA only permitted to re-set to market rent once every 3 years.
The changes do not affect the rules for existing tenancies which continue to be subject to the pre-1 March 2026 statutory regime which permits tenancy terminations on “no fault” grounds and caps rent increases in RPZs at the lower or 2% or CPI. Approved Housing Body and Cost Rental tenancies are also subject to different rent setting rules.
While these reforms aim to balance tenant protection with investment viability, they introduce a more complex regulatory framework. For existing PRS and SSA schemes, the changes mean that different rules will apply to different tenancies within the scheme depending on when the tenancy commenced and how previous tenancies were terminated.
Along with the upcoming changes to the short-term letting (STL) statutory regime (which will require STLs (up to 21 nights) to register annually with Fáilte Ireland and confirm planning compliance, as well as prohibiting STLs in cities and large towns with populations over 20,000), these changes signify a concerted effort on the government’s part to reform Ireland’s rental sector (as outlined in its action plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030).
Parties should seek tailored legal advice to fully understand how the new regime impacts private rented sector development and investment.
Please contact a member of the real estate team for more information.
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