2026-01-22

137. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if his proposed changes to the rent pressure zone rules will result in the majority of private rental tenants experiencing significant rent increases within a period of four years. [5324/26]

138. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the assessment and modelling he and his Department have carried out in the context of the residential tenancies (amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025 on rent levels in the private rental market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4936/26]

140. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage considering the testimony of witnesses before the Oireachtas housing committee stating that the proposed legislation would lead to increases in rents, and no witnesses stating that they believed rents would fall because of the legislation, his plans to ensure that changes to rent pressure zones and rent control legislation will not lead to higher rents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5108/26]

We understand that on Tuesday the Minister intends to bring his rip-off rent hike Bill to Cabinet for approval, a Bill that will sound the death knell effectively, over time, of rent pressure zones, RPZs. This is going to result in ever greater numbers of renters having their rent reset to the market rate. Will the Minister confirm to the House that the overwhelming majority of renters, over a period of four years, will effectively lose the meagre rent pressure zone protections as a consequence of his actions?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 137, 138 and 140 together. I welcome the questions from the Deputies. On 10 June 2025, the Government approved policy measures, including modifications to rent controls to come into effect on 1 March 2026 to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent, keep existing landlords in the market and protect renters. The changes agreed will also provide significantly stronger tenancy protections and are finely balanced between the interests of tenants and the need for further private investment in the rental market across the country, taking account of stakeholder engagement. The modifications to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the Housing Agency review of rent pressure zones and potential policy options. This review was undertaken to assess the operation of RPZs since their introduction and consider their impact on the market and relevant stakeholders, including the retention of landlords, new investment in rental properties and protecting tenants. It was also to consider whether RPZs should continue without change, be removed, modified or replaced. The review, which is published on the Housing Agency website, involved engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders, including investors, representatives of landlord and tenant advocacy groups, academics and the RTB. The agency submitted its report to my Department at the end of April and advised that its preferred recommendation was to modify the current RPZ rent controls. The review identified that Ireland’s current system appears to be severe for two reasons. First, it sets its rent cap at 2% or the level of the harmonised index of consumer prices, HICP, whichever is lower, meaning that rent increases may not keep pace with inflation. Second, it does not allow for a resetting of rents to market rates when a tenancy ends. The linking of rent regulation to a property rather than a tenancy, as is the case with RPZs, was viewed as a more stringent system of rent control. The review recommended a modification of rent controls and also recommended allowing landlords to reset rents to market levels between tenancies while providing for stronger tenant protections to guard against economic evictions. The review indicates that the provision to reset rent between tenancies may see some rent inflation but that this is expected to moderate as new supply comes on stream. Tenants moving into a property will have certainty that their future rent can only increase by inflation, up to a 2% maximum, in all tenancies other than new apartments. Taking account of the Housing Agency report and its preferred recommendation, the Government approved changes to rent regulation, which will be introduced nationally from 1 March 2026. The RTB rent index report, published quarterly, is designed to measure developments in rental prices faced by those taking up new tenancies in the private rental sector and more recently, utilising annual registration data, existing tenancy rent price developments. This information is available on the RTB website. On 14 October, the Government approved the general scheme of the residential tenancies (amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025. The Bill will amend the current system of rent controls and provide new measures to protect tenants, including stronger security of tenure, to come into effect for new tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026. A national rent control will be introduced to all tenancies that will limit rent increases for properties, other than new build apartments and student specific accommodation, to inflation, as per the consumer price index, up to a maximum of 2% per annum pro rata. For new build apartments and new student-specific accommodation, rent increases will be capped at the level of inflation, meaning that the 2% cap will not apply. The aim is to support investment in such development. To stimulate new investment and keep existing landlords in the market, resetting of rents to market value for new tenancies, that is a first-time tenancy between parties, created on or after 1 March 2026 will be allowed, subject to a number of restrictions. A landlord will only have the right to reset the rent to market rent, where the rent is below market rent, between tenancies where: the previous tenant terminated the tenancy; where there was a breach of tenant obligations; or where the dwelling no longer suits the accommodation needs of the tenant's household. For existing tenancies that is, those created on or before 28 February 2026, resetting of rents to market value will not be allowed and annual rent increases will continue to be restricted for existing and new tenancies. Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, published on 13 November 2025, is Ireland’s new national housing plan. It is a wide-ranging action plan focused on housing supply and targeting homelessness. The plan provides the strategic framework to support the delivery of 300,000 new homes during the period of the plan and identifies actions to support a more sustainable housing system moving forward. The rental market is an important element of a well-functioning housing system. It has seen significant growth over the past few decades. The increase in demand for rental properties is to be expected given recent increases in the population and demand for housing. Government is establishing a more robust legal and policy framework to support increased investment in the rental market to increase supply and choice for renters and, over time, reduce market rents. This will include ensuring that the legal framework supports domestic and international investment in the delivery of new rental properties, in particular, the supply of new apartments. CSO data shows that in quarter three of 2025, the number of apartments granted planning permission rose by 51.2% when compared with the same quarter of 2024. The Government has committed in excess of €9 billion in funding for housing through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency in 2026. Delivering Homes, Building Communities focuses on ensuring that a robust starter homes for rent programme will expand cost-rental as a tenure option and have a moderating impact on the wider rental market, placing downward pressure on private market rents.

The average length of a tenancy in the private rental sector is three and a half years and 25% of all tenancy registrations in a year are first-time tenancies. Students, particularly those in purpose-built student accommodation, typically rent year to year. The direct consequence of the legislation the Minister is going to bring to Cabinet on Tuesday is that from 1 March, ever greater numbers of renters will see already-unaffordable rents rise even higher. That is what he is doing. For some, it will be at the beginning of their tenancy but for all, it will happen within six years and for students, it will happen year on year. What that means is that over a period of four years, the overwhelming majority of tenants will move from a situation of having the meagre and modest protections of the rent pressure zones to even higher rip-off rents. Nobody believes that this will result in rents being reduced in the short to medium term. The Minister and his Department have done no analysis so why is he coming into this Chamber and misleading people by saying that this Bill will not result in ever increasing rip-off rents when that is what it is designed to do? Institutional investors asked for it. They are the only people who wanted it. He has given it to them and renters are going to pay the price.

This legislation is going to dramatically increase rents. The fact of the matter is that we have an inbuilt deficit of well over 200,000 homes. The Minister is talking about incentivising private sector investment but he is not going to be able to incentivise enough investment within the lifetime of this Oireachtas to bring rents down. Rents need to come down. Students, in particular, are going to be punished by this as they are forced to take up a new lease every year. The average length of a tenancy in this country is three and a half years. What specific public modelling has the Department done on this? Other than the Housing Agency report into RPZs, no specific modelling is available to forecast what these changes will do, which is send rents through the roof.

We have record homelessness, with over 5,300 children homeless right now and living in emergency accommodation. We have a cost-of-living crisis, with families struggling to afford the basics, many of them renters. Hundreds of thousands of renters in the coming years, who are struggling to pay the basic costs of living, will not be able to afford the new market rent. Does the Minister agree that rents will increase as a result of these measures in the coming years? As a result of changes that he is about to make, rents are going to increase. That is the truth. Rents will be increased to market rent when tenancies change whereas there was a 2% rent cap when a tenancy changed previously. That is no longer going be the case. Can the Minister answer that straight question? Does he agree that rents are going to change and increase immediately in the coming years as a result of these changes?