Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government is committed to supporting the continued participation of landlords and growing their investment in the rental market. Budget 2023 provides for a doubling of the cap on deductibility for a landlord's pre-letting expenditure for previously vacant properties to €10,000 per property. The requirement for vacancy for associated expenditure to qualify for such tax deductibility has been reduced from 12 to six months. Under action 2.8 of Housing for All, the Department of Finance reviewed the recommendations of the 2017 working group on the tax and fiscal treatment of landlords. The Government provided further assistance to landlords under the Finance Act 2022 via a Government Committee Stage amendment, passed in Dáil Éireann on 23 November 2022, to provide a new tax deduction of up to €10,000 for landlords who undertake retrofitting works while the tenant remains in situ.

The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2022 regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the residential rental sector and set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Section 34 of the Acts provides that a landlord must state a reason for the termination in any Part 4 tenancy notice of termination served and that the termination will not be valid unless that reason relates to one of the following: the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations - other than the obligation to pay rent - of the tenancy; 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 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. To be legally valid, the landlord must also simultaneously forward a copy of any notice of termination served to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. Further procedures and requirements apply in the case of tenancy terminations grounded on failure to pay rent.

According to recent RTB research, the ongoing exit of smaller landlords from the market is a consequence of multiple factors, including legacy issues from the financial and property crash of 2008 and a challenging regulatory environment. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland recently reported that four in ten house sales in quarter four of 2022 were due to landlords exiting the market. Its report cites the regulatory environment and low net returns as reasons for divestment.

Building upon budget 2023, the Government is continuing to examine and consider the need for any further financial measures to assist landlords.The Minister has commissioned a review of the rental sector which will take into account the significant regulatory changes over the past several years. The Government will continue with its recommendations. The review will make recommendations on how our housing system can provide an efficient, affordable, safe and secure framework both for landlords and tenants. This would be very welcome. The review will include a thematic review of the principal and relevant elements of the rental market, and its conclusion will be utilised to inform future policy direction for the rental market. The review will include a public consultation as well as targeted engagement with the various external stakeholders.