New Rental Laws Risk Deepening Ireland’s Housing Crisis: Research Report

Dublin: Fresh research reports have raised serious concerns over Ireland’s proposed new rental laws, which are expected to come into force next month, warning that the legislation could further destabilise the country’s already strained housing market.

Opposition parties and housing advocacy groups have repeatedly cautioned that the bill could push the sector into deeper crisis, even as the government maintains that the reforms will bring about a “revolution” in the housing market.

A report commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and jointly conducted by Maynooth University and the Community Action Tenants Union argues that the proposed legislation would drive up rents, increase evictions, and leave tenants more vulnerable. The study challenges the government’s claim that easing rent controls would encourage investment and incentivise landlords to upgrade properties.

According to the report, the planned overhaul of Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) regulations is likely to result in higher rents and a rise in evictions, while further deteriorating living conditions for tenants, particularly those renting from large corporate landlords. The research also highlights that homes in the private rental sector generally have poorer energy efficiency compared to other housing tenures.

The findings form part of the EPA-funded Just Housing Project, led by Maynooth University, which points to a shortage of rental homes with high energy performance ratings. The report notes that properties rated A or B for energy efficiency remain relatively scarce, leaving many tenants in substandard accommodation.

While the government argues that allowing landlords to reset rents to market levels every six years will attract greater investment and encourage property refurbishment, the report warns that the outcome is likely to be the opposite. The Cabinet formally approved the new provision last week, enabling landlords to realign rents with prevailing market rates at six-year intervals.

Researchers caution that the reforms could encourage landlords to seek eviction routes in order to increase rents, thereby undermining tenant security. The new RPZ framework, the report states, may also create additional opportunities for exploitation within the rental market.

Drawing on Residential Tenancies Board case files and survey responses from dozens of tenants renting from corporate landlords, the report documents multiple examples of poor housing conditions. It stresses that the absence of enforceable minimum standards has allowed such practices to persist.

Dr Fíadh Tubridy, the report’s author, said Ireland urgently needs clear, robust, and well-enforced legislation to guarantee minimum standards in the rental sector. These include mandatory minimum energy efficiency ratings for rental properties and stronger protections against unjust evictions.

Without such safeguards, the report concludes, the proposed rental reforms risk exacerbating inequality and insecurity across Ireland’s private rental market rather than delivering the promised improvements.