The Residential Tenancies Board, the regulator of landlords and tenants, released figures this week showing a concerning trend in the midst of a housing crisis driven by shortages of available properties and soaring rents.
The figures showed an increase in the number of eviction notices being issued by landlords, largely because they intended to sell their property.
They prompted public discussion around an apparent mass exodus of landlords in advance of new rent regulations coming into force in March 2026.
Beneath the headline figures, the true picture is more complex.
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There is little doubt that some landlords are getting out. The number of eviction notices issued by landlords in the third quarter of this year increased by 35 per cent on the same period last year.
On 3,307 or 61 per cent of the 5,405 eviction notices, the landlords stated they were planning to sell the properties, with a further 18 per cent (959) stating that either they or a relative planned to move into the property.
Another set of figures released on Thursday shows a different trend, however: an increase in the number of tenancies registered across the State.
The data shows the number of registered tenancies grew by 1.9 per cent annually to 240,741 in the third quarter.
It also showed that the landlord landscape is changing – there are more big landlords and fewer small ones.
[ Number of eviction notices increases by third due to landlords selling propertyOpens in new window ]
The proportion of tenancies provided by landlords with more than 100 tenancies has increased for nine consecutive quarters and now stands at just over 14 per cent of all landlord types.
This compares to a fall in the proportion of tenancies provided by landlords with one tenancy, which stood at almost 25 per cent in the third quarter of this year, the lowest number in more than two years.
The increase in eviction notices comes ahead of changes in rental rules which take effect next year.
So what are the changes and could they be pushing landlords out?
Last June the Government announced reforms to rental laws which included extending Rent Pressure Zones – where rent increases are restricted to protect tenants – across the State, a change that was effective immediately.
Other rules come into effect from March 1st, 2026.
From that date, new tenancies will have a minimum term of six years and can only be ended when a tenant is not meeting their obligations or where the property no longer suits the tenant’s needs.
[ The Irish Times view on rental rules: stepping up enforcementOpens in new window ]
Smaller landlords (those with three or fewer tenancies) will be allowed to terminate the tenancy within those six years only if they are experiencing financial hardship and need to sell, or where the landlord or a close family member needs to live in the property.
At the end of each six-year term smaller landlords can end the tenancy under existing grounds such as wanting to sell, occupy, renovate or change the use of the property.
Larger landlords – those with four or more tenancies – will not be allowed to end tenancies for these reasons.
Alongside this, for new tenancies starting after March 1st , all landlords will be able to reset rent to market rates.
Crucially for landlords, the new rules will only apply to tenancies starting after March 1st, and not existing tenancies so landlords will still be able to sell their properties at will whenever they want.
This means there is no real benefit to landlords in selling up before March 2026 because they will still be able to do so if they have sitting tenants.
“There are landlords selling up, but I wouldn’t describe it as a mass exodus,” says Maurice Deverell, a landlord who owns properties in Ireland and Britain.
“Some of them are getting out before March 2026, but they don’t need to,”
He says he will eventually get out of the Irish market because of restrictive rental laws, but he doesn’t believe there is a rush on any landlord to do so before March because landlords with existing tenancies will not be affected by the new rules.
Deverell, who is a committee member with the Irish Property Owners Association, says landlords are angry at the new regulations – and fearful of what might come next.
“They are angry at the fact that when they became a landlord, they could buy a property, own a property and sell a property when they wanted to – you actually had ownership over the property,” he says.
“Now you don’t have those rights of ownership of your property – you cannot sell it when you want to sell it.
“They’re also fearful of what will the Government do next – the Residential Tenancies Act is only 20 years old and already has so many amendments to it.” .
Minister for Housing James Browne said this week he did not believe the increase in landlords ending tenancies was solely down to the new rental laws.
“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,” he said.
While, anecdotally, there may be disillusionment among landlords about the changes, the evidence is not clear that it is forcing them out before March.
“There is no robust evidence of that happening,” says Mick Byrne, researcher at the UCD School of Social Policy.
“The core problem with these debates is that we don’t have any evidence on the number of landlords who purchase or sell in a given year. That leaves us relying on the overall trajectory of tenancy growth, which we do have data on, and that shows the private rental sector is growing,” Byrne says.
So if the number of tenancies is growing, should the ordinary person looking for somewhere to live be worried about the increase in eviction notices?
“The increase in the number of notices of termination is definitely concerning and indicates that the transition to the new regime will not be all plain sailing,” Byrne says.
“But beyond it being a cause for concern, and something that we should take seriously, we don’t know how high it is compared to historical trends, or what the cause is – if any.”
