Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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The overhaul of residential tenancies legislation was intended to protect tenants through changes to rent controls and the expansion of tenant protections. However, it is very clear that, since the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2025 updates were introduced in June 2025 with the intention of stabilising rent prices, they have created a bigger problem as many tenants have been given notice to quit. It is getting completely out of hand. I am contacted every day by tenants who have got notices to quit and who are wondering where they are going to go. It is very clear that landlords are getting out one way or another. They are not prepared to sign up for a total of six years from March onwards so they are getting out before then. I have been contacted by many people and it seems some small landlords are getting out of the market completely because they do not want to be locked into a rental for six years while others are using this opportunity to renovate their properties and get new tenants at a higher rent after March.

I have already been in contact with the Minister regarding the 14 families in the Loreto Chapel estate in Killarney who have received notices to quit from the property owner, the Cypriot property company Xerico Limited, which owns the 14 houses in the estate. I have asked the Minister what can be done for these families because it is very clear that these people are getting out before the March deadline and that these rent controls are having an adverse effect.

Supply will drop with these rent controls. Tenants cannot move. If they want to move to Killarney from Tralee, or vice versa, they will not be able to get houses there. We are shrinking the landlord market when we should be increasing it.

Last year and the year before, I raised the issue of there being so many vacant properties. House owners and landlords will not rent properties for two reasons: the amount of tax they will have to pay, amounting to more than 50%, and fear they will not get tenants out when they want to get their houses back.

I gave the example of 55 houses from Kenmare through Kilgarvan to ten miles down the road to Killarney. They are on the side of the road and each and every one of them can be reached by bus, but the owners will not rent them because of the two reasons I have given. The Government should have been doing something about that rather than shrinking supply, meaning we will not have houses for other people.

There are many people who would build a house if they could get planning permission in Kerry. They cannot do so. There are many who would buy a house but cannot because the prices are exorbitant. They are confined to renting in the private market. We need the private market as well as public housing, including social housing. People cannot get on the social housing list because of the income cap, which is €37,000. If they exceed this, they will not be left on the housing list.

It is the divine right of a house owner to do what they want to do with the house and they should not be made to something they do not want to do. The Government will not succeed in this. The housing officials in the Department of housing who came up with this idea did not do any good for tenants and would-be tenants in the first place, and they are doing no good for the Government because it is putting it down in the ratings. I know this because people are fed up. They cannot rent houses. We are shrinking the market and will have far fewer houses to go around.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am taking it on behalf of the Department of housing and the Minister, Deputy James Browne.

On 10 June 2025, the Government approved policy measures, including modifications to rent controls, to come into effect on 1 March 2026, as the Deputy has outlined. The purpose is to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent and, at the same time, keep existing landlords in the market. The changes agreed will also provide significantly stronger tenancy protections. They are finely balanced between the interests of tenants and the need for further private investment in the rental market across the country, which the Deputy has acknowledged.

The modifications to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the Housing Agency review of rent pressure zones and potential policy options and its preferred recommendation to modify the operation of the existing rent pressure zone controls. Today, the Government approved the general scheme of the residential tenancies (amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025 for priority legal drafting to commence as the basis for bringing in new rental changes from March.

In general, after six months, a landlord may serve a notice of termination only in very clearly defined circumstances. Section 34 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides that the landlord must state in the notice of termination the reason the tenancy is being terminated, and the notice will not be valid unless that reason relates to one or more of the following: the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations of the tenancy other than the obligation to pay rent; the tenant has failed to comply with the obligation to pay rent under the tenancy; the dwelling is no longer suited to the needs of the occupying household; the landlord intends to sell the dwelling within the next nine months; the landlord requires the dwelling for their own or family member occupation; vacant possession is required for substantial refurbishment of the dwelling; and-or the landlord intends to change the use of the dwelling. In addition, all notices of termination must be copied to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, at the same time as being served to the tenant and will be invalid if not so copied.

It is worth noting that during quarter 2 of 2025, according to the most recently published statistics by the RTB, there were 14,742 new tenancy registrations, while 4,728 notices of termination were received by the RTB. This does not represent a significant increase, just less than 1%. It is also important to appreciate that not every notice of termination results in a tenancy termination taking effect. The most recent statistics available through the RTB’s profile of the register show that, since quarter 2 of 2023, the number of registered private tenancies and landlords has continually increased year on year. The figures have remained relatively static this year, with 240,798 registered private tenancies at the end of quarter 2 of 2025, representing an increase of 3.2% annually and an increase of 0.08% from quarter 1 of 2025.

The statistics reflect the constant movement in the rental sector but also that the overall number of tenancies remains steady. The Government and I appreciate that the ending of any tenancy impacts the lives of both the tenant and the landlord. Landlords can be reassured that the current tenancy termination rules will continue to apply to an existing tenancy. The March changes will not apply. A detailed communications campaign will be undertaken by the Department, in conjunction with the RTB, between the publication of the Bill and the introduction of the new legislative measures from 1 March next year.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State very much for being here so late at night. I know she will relay my concerns to the Minister.

Many people, including me do not believe it is fair to lock a landlord into a rental agreement for six years. This failed in Scotland, where the authorities have gone back to the arrangement they had in 2016. I am concerned about the Minister of State’s figures because, to me, having been a public representative in Kerry for over 20 years, I have never seen the like of what is happening, including to the 14-house estate in Killarney, and there are many more of those. Day after day, I hear about affected girls with one or two children and couples with two or three children. Every day, they ask where they should go. I am afraid this will blow up altogether in the next couple of months because everyone is sending out notices so they will be clear for 1 March. That is my concern and why I have raised this matter today. I am afraid that what is proposed will not work.

I have the history. There is no stir on the 55 houses along the road from Kenmare through Kilgarvan to Killarney. The reason is the owners will not enter agreements because they are afraid they will not get their houses back. Another reason is that they would have to pay half the rental income in tax if they had some other income. This will affect the people with one, two or three houses. They will not be bothered to go ahead with renting as soon as the existing tenancies end. They will be out of the market. Whatever they do with the houses, they will not rent them at all. That is what I am hearing from them. They will forget about renting privately, whatever else they do. The Department has to review this because it is not fair.

Will tenants be locked into the six-year agreement? I know that the tenants want to move around too.

They have to follow their jobs, but they cannot continue to travel. We know the cost of travelling, and we are told about carbon emissions and all that. Will the Minister of State look at this issue again, particularly as what is happening is hurting a lot of people?

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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On the basis of the response I have here, it seems that the Government is trying to ensure a fair balance. The Government is focused on growing the supply of much-needed rental accommodation by keeping existing landlords in the market but also by attracting new landlords. I hear what the Deputy is saying, however. By doing this, we must ensure strong and balanced tenancy protections for tenants and landlords.

The residential tenancies (amendment) (No. 2) Bill will be published as soon as possible in order to allow the new measures to come into effect by 1 March 2026. The key message from the Government for landlords is that if they have existing tenancies, for example, those created on or before 28 February 2026, their right to terminate those tenancies will not change on foot of the impending Bill. In fact, if a tenancy ends on or after 1 March 2026 because the tenant leaves or breaches their obligations, the landlord may reset the rent to market rate for the new tenant. Rent controls are being modified to help landlords to keep their rental income in line with inflation and not fall behind market rent.

There is also a key message for tenants. It is that if they create a new tenancy with a new landlord from 1 March 2026 and do not breach their obligations, they will have greater security to remain in situ for a minimum of six years. Some flexibility will be provided for smaller landlords to end tenancies if they face hardship or their family needs to occupy a property.