No eviction notices will be issued to tenants in the Republic of Ireland from November to March 2023.
The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Michael Martin said the policy would get balance to help those at risk of homelessness this winter.
A body representing landlords said it was considering a legal challenge to the policy.
For individuals who fail to pay their rent or harm the property, there will still be exceptions.
Prior to a meeting with his cabinet, Mr. Martin said to RTÉ News, "We are approaching winter, and that's the context.
"Many concerns needed to be resolved, not the least of which was the legal basis for this. That needed to be resolved.
The Irish Property Owners Association's Mary Conway stated on RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the policy would make it impossible for some of her members to sell their homes.
The over-regulation of the market, she continued, was driving landlords away and escalating the housing crisis.
The initiative had received widespread support from NGOs and opposition political groups. The head executive of the housing charity Threshold, John Mark McCafferty, called it the "least bad choice."
He said that in 2022, the number of tenancy terminations granted by his company had doubled from 263 to 462, or every month.
Ivana Bacik, the leader of the Labour party, welcomed the plans and stated that they would help "many, many families" right away, but she urged for a longer-term solution to the housing situation.