The number of tenancies ended by landlords has increased by 35 per cent since the same time last year, new data from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) shows.
Some 5,405 notices of termination were received in the third quarter of 2025, up from 3,995 in the same period last year.
The vast majority of these notices were sent because the landlord intended to sell the property.
The number of landlords intending to sell their properties has steadily increased since last year, from 2,027 in the fourth quarter of 2024, to 2,518 in the first three months of this year to 2,698 in the second quarter and to 3,307 in the third.
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The data was released at the annual conference of the RTB in Dublin on Thursday morning.
At the conference, Minister for Housing James Browne was asked whether this increase in landlords leaving the market was down to new rental laws that are due to come into effect in March that mandate minimum six-year tenancies.
The new rules make it much harder for landlords to sell their properties during the six-year period, with smaller landlords only able to end a tenancy in that period if they are under financial hardship that requires the sale of the property, or if the landlord or a close family member needs to live in it.
These rules will only apply to new tenancies started after this date, and will not apply to existing tenancies.
The Minister said he did not believe the increase in landlords leaving the market was solely down to the upcoming change in rental laws.
“I think if you look at the research from 2023, it did indicate well over a quarter of all small landlords intended to exit the market over the next five years. So I think you’re seeing probably an element of that coming into the system.
Asked if he would consider changing the new rules to address the number of landlords leaving, the Minister said: “No, because I believe the changes that we are bringing in will substantially increase supply and ultimately drive down rents and ensure that we have the tenancies that we need for people to rent.”
RTB director Rosemary Steen said she is “concerned” about trends in the data on landlord numbers and terminations of tenancies.
However, she pointed to the need to “take a measured view” as “there are always landlords entering and leaving the rental market”.
“At least 2,000 landlords end a tenancy with the intention to sell in every quarter, but this does not usually lead to a fall in registered tenancies. We have seen big changes in who is providing those tenancies in recent years.
“The proportion of tenancies provided by large landlords with 100-plus tenancies has now increased for nine consecutive quarters to 14.2 per cent today,” Ms Steen said.
Separately, research from the Economic and Social Research Institute on behalf of the RTB shows rent increases are moderating across the country, albeit staying at a very high rate.
The data shows rent increases have fallen over the past year, by an average of 2.15 per cent per annum in the latest year (Q2 2024 – Q1 2025), down from 2.7 per cent one year earlier.
Properties with sitting tenants in Dublin and other rent pressure zones (RPZs) saw the lowest rent increases of 1 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. In the year up to Q1 2025, properties outside of RPZs with tenants saw higher rent increases of 11.6 per cent.
To look at what people are paying, the average rent for new tenancies grew by 4.7 per cent annually to €1,731. This compares with 5.5 per cent in the previous two quarters.
The average rent for existing tenancies grew by 4.8 per cent to €1,482.
Although the number of landlords issuing notices to quit has increased significantly, it is worth noting that the number of registered tenancies has grown by 1.9 per cent annually to a total of 240,741.
The proportion of tenancies provided by landlords with more than 100 tenancies has increased for nine consecutive quarters and now stands at 14.23 per cent of all landlord types.
This compares with a fall in the proportion of tenancies provided by landlords with one tenancy, which stood at 24.93 per cent in Q3 2025, the lowest number in over two years.
