When Aoife Kelly moved to Dublin in September 2025 for her first job after college, she thought finding a flat would take a week. She had a graduate salary of EUR 38,000, a clean credit history, and references from her part-time job in Galway.

It took her eleven weeks.

She attended 23 viewings. She applied for 14 properties. She was rejected or ghosted by 13 of them. She spent five weeks sleeping on a friend’s couch and three weeks in an Airbnb that cost EUR 1,200 for the month.

“Nobody prepares you for it,” she said. “They tell you Dublin is expensive, but they do not tell you that you will literally not be able to find anywhere to live.”

Aoife’s experience is not unusual. It is the norm. But there are things she wishes she had known from the start, strategies that would have saved her weeks of stress and hundreds of euros in temporary accommodation.

This guide is everything she wished someone had told her.

Step 1: Set Your Budget Honestly

The 30% rule (spend no more than 30% of your net income on rent) is a useful benchmark but almost impossible to meet in Dublin. Most renters in the capital are spending 40% to 50% of their net income on housing.

Here is what that looks like in practice:

• Gross salary EUR 35,000 (net approx. EUR 2,550/month): Affordable rent at 30% is EUR 765. Realistic rent for a room in a shared house: EUR 900 to EUR 1,200.
• Gross salary EUR 45,000 (net approx. EUR 3,100/month): Affordable rent at 30% is EUR 930. Realistic rent for a one-bedroom: EUR 1,400 to EUR 1,800.
• Gross salary EUR 60,000 (net approx. EUR 3,800/month): Affordable rent at 30% is EUR 1,140. Realistic rent for a one-bedroom: EUR 1,500 to EUR 2,000.

Be honest with yourself about what you can afford. Factor in utilities (EUR 150 to EUR 200 per month), transport (EUR 100 to EUR 150 for a monthly Leap card or commuter rail pass), groceries, and some breathing room for unexpected expenses.

Step 2: Look Beyond Dublin

This is the single most impactful decision you can make. If your job allows any flexibility on location, the savings are dramatic:

• Limerick: Two-bedroom apartment for EUR 1,300 to EUR 1,400 per month. Similar quality to what you would pay EUR 2,200 for in Dublin.
• Waterford: Two-bedroom apartment for EUR 1,100 to EUR 1,300 per month.
• Galway: Slightly more expensive than Limerick, but still 25% to 30% cheaper than Dublin.
• Midlands (Athlone, Tullamore, Mullingar): Rents starting from EUR 900 per month for a two-bedroom.

If you work remotely or can negotiate a hybrid arrangement with one or two days in the office, living outside Dublin and commuting could save you EUR 700 to EUR 1,000 per month. Over a year, that is EUR 8,400 to EUR 12,000.

Step 3: Get Your Documents Ready Before You Start Looking

This is where most people lose time. When a property comes up, the application window is measured in hours, not days. Having your documents ready in advance means you can apply immediately.

Prepare a single PDF or folder containing:

• Photo ID (passport or driving licence)
• Proof of employment (contract or letter from employer)
• Recent payslips (last three months)
• Landlord reference from your current or most recent tenancy
• Employer reference (a short letter confirming your role and salary)
• Bank statement showing regular income
• PPS number

If you are moving from abroad and do not have Irish payslips or a PPS number yet, include your overseas employment contract, bank statements, and a letter from your new Irish employer confirming your start date and salary. Some landlords will accept a larger deposit (two months instead of one) to offset the lack of local references.

Step 4: Use Every Channel

Do not rely on a single platform. Spread your search across:

• Daft.ie: The largest rental listing site in Ireland. Set up alerts for your criteria and check multiple times per day.
• Rent.ie and MyHome.ie: Secondary platforms that sometimes have listings not on Daft.
• Facebook groups: Search for “rooms to rent in [city]” or “rental accommodation [area].” Many landlords, particularly those with a single property, advertise only on Facebook.
• Word of mouth: Tell everyone you know that you are looking. A surprising number of rentals are never publicly advertised.
• Company noticeboards: If you work for a large employer, check internal channels. Colleagues who are moving out may know of upcoming vacancies.

Step 5: Apply for Cost Rental

If your net household income is below EUR 66,000 in Dublin (EUR 59,000 elsewhere) and you do not own property, you should be applying for Cost Rental developments as they become available. Rents are at least 25% below market rates, and recent ESRI data shows an average discount of 29.9%.

Yes, the odds are long (1,300 applications for 56 homes in one recent Dublin scheme). But you can apply for multiple developments simultaneously, and the odds improve significantly outside Dublin. A development in Limerick or Waterford might have a ratio of 5 to 1 instead of 23 to 1.

Check affordablehomes.ie weekly for new openings.

Step 6: Claim Your Rent Tax Credit

Once you are renting, claim the Rent Tax Credit immediately. It is worth EUR 1,000 per year for a single person or EUR 2,000 for a couple. You can claim it in-year through Revenue’s myAccount to increase your monthly take-home pay.

If you have been renting since 2022 and never claimed, you can go back and claim for all four previous years. That is up to EUR 4,000 in refunds.

Step 7: Know Your Rights from Day One

From the moment you sign a lease, you have specific legal protections under the Residential Tenancies Act. Key points:

• Your landlord must register your tenancy with the RTB within one month
• In Rent Pressure Zones, rent increases are capped at the lower of 2% per year or CPI
• New tenancies from March 2026 have a minimum duration of six years
• Your deposit must be returned within 28 days of the tenancy ending, less any agreed deductions
• Your landlord must maintain the property to minimum standards under S.I. 137/2019

If any of these are not being met, you can refer the matter to the RTB at no cost.

Furnished vs Unfurnished

The vast majority of rental apartments in Ireland come fully furnished, which includes beds, sofas, kitchen appliances, and basic furniture. Unfurnished properties are rare and usually houses rather than apartments.

If you are offered an unfurnished property at a lower rent, it can be worth it if you plan to stay long-term. The cost of furnishing a one-bedroom apartment (bed, sofa, table, basic kitchen items) is typically EUR 2,000 to EUR 3,000 from IKEA or second-hand sources. If the rent saving is EUR 200 per month, you break even within 15 months.

Temporary Accommodation While Searching

If you are moving to a new city and need a base while you search, budget for four to eight weeks of temporary accommodation. Options include:

• Hostels: EUR 25 to EUR 40 per night in Dublin. Not ideal long-term but the cheapest option.
• Airbnb (monthly stays): EUR 1,200 to EUR 1,800 per month for a private room. Negotiate directly with the host for a monthly discount.
• Short-term corporate lets: EUR 1,500 to EUR 2,500 per month. Furnished apartments available on a monthly rolling basis.
• Friends or family: Free, and the best option if available. Offer to contribute to bills.

Finding affordable rent in Ireland in 2026 is genuinely difficult. The vacancy rate is at historic lows, competition for every listing is intense, and rents absorb a painful share of most people’s income. But it is not impossible. Be organised, be fast, be flexible on location, and use every tool available to you, from Cost Rental applications to the Rent Tax Credit. The system is stacked against renters right now, but informed renters fare better than uninformed ones.

Here is a number that should worry everyone: 1,777.

That is how many homes were available to rent across the entire country of Ireland on February 1st, 2026. A country of 5.3 million people had fewer rental properties available than a single London borough.

Down 22% from the same date the previous year. In a market that was already at crisis point.

This is not a housing shortage anymore. It is a structural failure, and the numbers tell the story more clearly than any headline.

The Vacancy Rate: 1% to 2%

A healthy rental market operates at a vacancy rate of about 5% to 7%. That gives tenants enough choice to find something suitable and gives landlords enough competition to keep rents in check.

Ireland’s rental vacancy rate sits at roughly 1% to 2% nationally. In Dublin, it is closer to 1%. In some towns that were once considered affordable alternatives, like Navan, Drogheda, and Carlow, the vacancy rate has dropped to similar levels as the capital.

What does a 1% vacancy rate feel like on the ground? It means:

• Viewings for rental properties attract 30 to 50 people at a time
• Prospective tenants offer to pay six months or a year upfront to secure a property
• People with good jobs and clean references are competing against dozens of equally qualified applicants
• Anyone with a perceived disadvantage (families with young children, people with pets, those on HAP) is functionally excluded

Supply: The Numbers That Matter

Understanding why the market is this tight requires looking at what is being built, what is entering the rental market, and what is leaving it.

New Construction Has Collapsed

Housing commencements in 2025 were just over 16,000 units. That is down from more than 69,300 in 2024, a drop of over 75%. The reasons include rising construction costs, higher interest rates making development finance more expensive, and planning delays.

Ireland needs approximately 50,000 to 55,000 new homes per year to meet demand from population growth, household formation, and replacement of obsolete stock. Delivering 16,000 means the deficit is growing by approximately 35,000 to 40,000 homes every year.

Private Landlords Are Selling

Notices of termination from landlords increased 35% in Q3 2025 compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Many of these are landlords selling their rental properties and leaving the market permanently.

The reasons are well-documented: high marginal tax rates on rental income (up to 52%), increasing regulatory requirements, the risk of long and costly RTB disputes, and rising interest rates on buy-to-let mortgages. For many small landlords with one or two properties, the numbers simply do not work anymore.

Every property that leaves the rental market permanently reduces the available stock. And the landlords who are leaving tend to be the ones offering mid-range properties at mid-range rents. Their properties are bought by owner-occupiers or institutional investors who convert them to short-term lets or reposition them at higher rents.

Short-Term Lets

The growth of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms has removed thousands of units from the long-term rental market. Regulations introduced in 2019 require planning permission for short-term lets in Rent Pressure Zones, but enforcement has been inconsistent.

A study by the Irish Council for Social Housing estimated that more than 10,000 properties across Ireland were being used primarily for short-term letting rather than long-term rental.

The Rent Numbers

With demand vastly exceeding supply, rents have reached record levels:

• National average: Over EUR 2,000 per month (Daft.ie Q4 2025 report)
• Dublin city centre: EUR 2,500 or more for a one-bedroom apartment
• Dublin suburbs: EUR 2,000 to EUR 2,200 for a two-bedroom apartment
• Cork city: EUR 1,600 to EUR 1,800 for a two-bedroom apartment
• Galway city: EUR 1,500 to EUR 1,700 for a two-bedroom apartment
• Limerick city: EUR 1,300 to EUR 1,400 for a two-bedroom apartment

A one-bedroom apartment in Dublin now costs roughly EUR 1,520 per month at the low end. The average worker in Ireland earns approximately EUR 49,000 gross per year, which translates to roughly EUR 3,200 net per month. Spending EUR 1,520 on rent means nearly half their income goes to housing.

The accepted benchmark for housing affordability is 30% of net income. By that measure, a single person in Dublin needs to earn approximately EUR 61,000 net per year to afford the average one-bedroom apartment. That is a gross salary of over EUR 100,000.

Homelessness: The Human Cost

Behind the statistics are people. Monthly homelessness figures in Ireland have exceeded 16,000 people, including both adults and children, throughout 2025 and into 2026. Many of these are working families who simply could not find or afford a rental property.

There are teachers living in emergency accommodation. Nurses commuting from hotels. Young professionals sleeping in their cars because they moved to Dublin for a job but could not find anywhere to live.

The waiting list for social housing stands at nearly 60,000 households, with another 53,571 households in active HAP tenancies that need permanent accommodation.

What Is Being Done?

The Government’s Housing for All strategy, published in 2021 and updated since, sets ambitious targets:

• 33,000 new homes per year by 2030
• 18,000 Cost Rental homes by 2030
• Over EUR 9 billion allocated in Budget 2026 for housing capital expenditure

But the gap between targets and delivery remains wide. In 2025, total housing output was approximately 30,000 units, short of the 33,000 target and well below the 50,000+ that independent analysis suggests is needed.

The Land Development Agency (LDA) is accelerating delivery on state-owned land, but lead times for planning, procurement, and construction mean most of these homes are still years from occupancy.

What Can Renters Do?

The honest answer is that individual action cannot solve a systemic problem. But there are practical steps that can help:

• Look beyond Dublin and Cork. Rents in Limerick, Waterford, and the midlands are 30% to 40% lower. If remote work is an option, the financial case for moving is overwhelming.
• Apply for Cost Rental. Even with the lottery odds, it is worth trying. Savings of EUR 500 to EUR 700 per month are life-changing.
• Claim your Rent Tax Credit. EUR 1,000 per year is not transformative, but it helps. And you can claim back four years if you have never filed.
• Know your rights. The new rental legislation gives you stronger protections. Use them. Register disputes with the RTB if your landlord is not compliant.

The rental crisis in Ireland is not going to resolve quickly. The supply shortage is structural and will take years of sustained building to address. But understanding the numbers, knowing what support is available, and making informed decisions about where and how you rent can make the difference between coping and being overwhelmed.

James and Rebecca had been renting their two-bedroom flat in Clapham for three years when they received a Section 21 notice. No reason given. No fault on their part. Just a form letter telling them they had two months to find somewhere else to live.

They had a six-month-old baby.

“We had done everything right,” Rebecca said. “Paid on time every month. Kept the place spotless. And suddenly we were on Rightmove at 11pm with a newborn, trying to find somewhere we could afford that would actually accept us.”

From May 1st, 2026, that cannot happen anymore. The Renters’ Rights Act has finally come into force, and Section 21 no-fault evictions are now illegal in England.

Here is everything you need to know.

Section 21 Is Dead

The single biggest change: landlords in England can no longer evict tenants without a valid reason. The Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notice, which allowed landlords to remove tenants with just two months’ notice and no explanation, is gone.

From May 1st, 2026, every eviction must be on specific legal grounds under the reformed Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. These grounds include:

• Rent arrears: If you are at least two months behind on rent, and the arrears have not been cleared by the time of the hearing
• Antisocial behaviour: If you or someone in your household has caused serious nuisance to neighbours
• Landlord wishes to sell: Allowed, but with at least four months’ notice and only after the first 12 months of the tenancy
• Landlord or family member wishes to move in: Four months’ notice, only after the first 12 months, and the landlord must provide evidence of genuine intent

Crucially, if a landlord evicts you to sell or move a family member in, and then re-lets the property within 12 months, they can face penalties.

All Tenancies Are Now Periodic

This is a subtle but important change. Under the new law, all assured shorthold tenancies automatically convert to assured periodic tenancies. In plain English: your tenancy rolls on monthly with no fixed end date.

This means:

• No more fixed-term tenancy agreements that lock you in for 12 months
• No more “break clause” confusion
• You can leave at any time by giving two months’ written notice (including via text or email)
• Your landlord can only end the tenancy using the specific Section 8 grounds listed above

For existing tenants on assured shorthold tenancies, the transition happens automatically. You do not need to sign a new contract. Your landlord is required to give you a Mandatory Information Sheet by May 31st, 2026, explaining how your rights have changed. If they fail to provide this, they face a fine of up to GBP 7,000.

Rent Increases: Once a Year, and Challengeable

Landlords can now only increase rent once every 12 months, and they must give at least two months’ notice. The proposed rent must be in line with market rates.

If you believe the increase is above market rate, you can challenge it at a First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal will assess the rent based on comparable properties in the area. If they agree the proposed rent is too high, they will set a lower figure, and the landlord must accept it.

One important new rule: landlords must advertise and stick to a fixed rent price. No more bidding wars where prospective tenants offer above the asking rent to secure a property.

You Can Now Ask for a Pet

From May 1st, 2026, tenants have the right to request permission to keep a pet. The landlord must respond within 42 days and can only refuse on reasonable grounds. A blanket “no pets” policy in a tenancy agreement is no longer enforceable.

Reasonable grounds for refusal might include:

• The property is too small for the type of pet
• The lease for the building (in a block of flats) prohibits animals
• The pet would cause a genuine health and safety risk

Landlords can require tenants to take out pet damage insurance to cover any potential damage.

The Decent Homes Standard

For the first time, private rented homes will be subject to the Decent Homes Standard, which previously only applied to social housing. This means your landlord must ensure the property:

• Is free from serious hazards (damp, mould, electrical risks, falls)
• Is in a reasonable state of repair
• Has reasonably modern facilities (kitchen, bathroom)
• Provides adequate thermal comfort (insulation, heating)

Local authorities will have new enforcement powers, and a new ombudsman for the private rented sector will handle complaints.

Deposit Protections

Deposits are capped at one month’s rent. Landlords cannot ask for more than this upfront. Deposits must be held in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme, as before, but enforcement will be strengthened.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you are currently renting in England, here is your checklist:

1. Wait for your Mandatory Information Sheet. Your landlord must provide this by May 31st, 2026. If they do not, chase them in writing and note the date. They face a fine for non-compliance.
2. Know that you cannot be Section 21’d anymore. If you receive a Section 21 notice dated after May 1st, 2026, it is invalid. Do not leave. Contact Shelter or Citizens Advice immediately.
3. Challenge unfair rent increases. If your landlord proposes a rent increase that seems above market rate, gather evidence (Rightmove listings, Zoopla estimates) and refer it to the tribunal.
4. Request a pet if you want one. Put the request in writing. The landlord has 42 days to respond with a reasoned decision.
5. Report unsafe conditions. If your home has damp, mould, broken heating, or other hazards, report it to your landlord in writing. If they do not act, contact your local council’s environmental health team.

The Renters’ Rights Act is the most significant reform of the private rented sector in England in a generation. It does not solve the housing crisis. It does not bring rents down. But it does mean that paying your rent on time and being a good tenant now genuinely protects you from losing your home without cause.

That is a start.

There is a good chance you are owed money by Revenue and you do not even know it.

The Rent Tax Credit has been available since 2022, yet millions of euros go unclaimed every year. According to Revenue data, nearly 40% of eligible renters have never claimed it. That is hundreds of thousands of people leaving up to EUR 1,000 per year on the table.

Mark, a 29-year-old software developer in Galway, only learned about the credit when a colleague mentioned it at lunch. He went home that evening, logged into Revenue’s myAccount, and claimed for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 in a single sitting. Three weeks later, he received a refund of EUR 3,200.

“I felt stupid for not knowing about it,” he said. “But also annoyed that nobody told me.”

This article is telling you.

What Is the Rent Tax Credit?

The Rent Tax Credit is a tax relief for people who pay rent on their home in Ireland. It was introduced in Budget 2023 and has been extended through the end of 2028.

The amounts are:

• Single person: EUR 1,000 per year (EUR 83.33 per month)
• Married couple or civil partners (jointly assessed): EUR 2,000 per year

This is a tax credit, not a tax deduction. That means it reduces your tax bill directly by EUR 1,000, rather than reducing the income on which you pay tax. It is worth the same to everyone regardless of whether you pay tax at 20% or 40%.

Who Can Claim?

You can claim the Rent Tax Credit if:

• You pay rent for your principal private residence (the home you live in)
• You pay rent for a property you use to be near work (a “digs” arrangement)
• You pay rent for a property your child lives in while attending college
• Your landlord is not a local authority, an Approved Housing Body, or a connected person (like a parent or employer)

That third point is important. If you are a parent paying rent on accommodation for your son or daughter who is in college, you can claim the credit. Many parents do not know this.

How to Claim: The 5-Minute Process

Claiming for 2026 (This Year)

You can now claim the credit in-year, which means it increases your take-home pay each month rather than waiting for a refund at year end.

1. Log into myAccount on revenue.ie
2. Go to PAYE Services
3. Click Manage Your Tax 2026
4. Select Add New Credits
5. Under You and Your Family, choose Rent Tax Credit
6. Enter your landlord’s name, address, and the amount of rent you pay
7. Submit

Revenue will adjust your tax credits, and your employer will apply the change from your next pay cycle. For a single person, this adds roughly EUR 38.46 extra to each bi-weekly payslip, or EUR 83.33 per month.

Claiming for Previous Years (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

This is where the real money is. If you have been renting since 2022 and never claimed, you are owed up to EUR 4,000.

1. Log into myAccount on revenue.ie
2. Go to PAYE Services
3. Click Review Your Tax for each year (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
4. Select Request a Statement of Liability
5. Add the Rent Tax Credit under Tax Credits and Reliefs
6. Enter the landlord details and rent paid for that year
7. Submit each year separately

Refunds for previous years are typically processed within two to three weeks and paid directly into your bank account.

Do I Need My Landlord’s RTB Number?

Revenue asks for your landlord’s RTB registration number when you submit the claim. However, you can still submit the claim without it. Revenue has confirmed that the absence of an RTB number will not prevent your claim from being processed.

That said, if your landlord has not registered your tenancy with the RTB (which is a legal requirement), that is a separate issue worth addressing.

Common Questions

Can I claim if I rent a room in a shared house?
Yes, as long as you pay rent and it is your principal residence. Your share of the rent qualifies.

Can I claim if I live with my partner?
If you are jointly assessed for tax, one of you can claim EUR 2,000. If you are separately assessed, each of you can claim EUR 1,000 (provided both names are on the lease or both can demonstrate they pay rent).

Can I claim if I receive HAP?
Yes, but only on the portion of rent you pay yourself, not the part paid by the local authority.

Can I claim if I am self-employed?
Yes. Self-employed individuals claim through their Form 11 annual tax return via ROS (Revenue Online Service).

What records do I need to keep?
Keep your lease agreement, proof of rent payments (bank statements or receipts), and your landlord’s contact details. Revenue can audit claims for up to four years.

The Numbers in Perspective

EUR 1,000 per year might not sound life-changing. But consider this:

• Over seven years (2022 to 2028), the total credit is worth EUR 7,000 per person, or EUR 14,000 per couple
• For a parent claiming for a child in college, that is an additional EUR 1,000 per year on top of their own credit
• If you have been renting since 2022 and have never claimed, filing today could put EUR 4,000 back in your bank account within a month

It takes five minutes. Do it today.

On March 1st, 2026, everything changed for renters in Ireland. The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 became law, and for the first time in a generation, the balance of power shifted, even slightly, from landlords to tenants.

If you rent in Ireland, these changes affect you directly. Whether you signed your lease last week or ten years ago, the new rules apply. Here is what they mean in plain language.

The Big Change: Six-Year Minimum Tenancy

Before March 2026, a landlord could end a tenancy after the initial fixed-term period with relatively few restrictions. The new law changes that fundamentally.

Every new tenancy created from March 1st, 2026, now has a minimum duration of six years. Your landlord cannot simply decide to end your tenancy because the fixed term is up. You have security for six years from the start date, provided you meet your obligations as a tenant.

For tenants who were already in a tenancy before March 1st, 2026, the transition rules are slightly different. If you have been renting for less than six months, you will transition to the new six-year framework from the date you started. If you have been renting for longer, you are already covered by the existing Part 4 security of tenure, and the new law strengthens your existing protections.

No-Fault Evictions: What Actually Changed?

The phrase “no-fault eviction” has been all over the news, but what does it mean in practice?

Previously, a landlord could end a tenancy for reasons like “I want to sell the property” or “I need it for a family member” with relatively short notice. These are called “no-fault” grounds because the tenant has done nothing wrong.

The new law does not eliminate these grounds entirely, but it restricts them significantly:

• Sale of property: A landlord can still end a tenancy to sell, but must now provide evidence that the property is genuinely being sold (not just listed). If the property is not sold within 12 months, the former tenant has a right to return.
• Family member use: The landlord must provide a statutory declaration confirming the family member genuinely intends to live in the property for at least 12 months. If they do not move in or leave within 12 months, penalties apply.
• Substantial refurbishment: The landlord must provide detailed plans and a timeline. The works must be so substantial that the property cannot be lived in during the renovation.

New Notice Periods: The Full Table

The notice a landlord must give you depends on how long you have been renting:

• Less than 6 months: 28 days
• 6 months to 1 year: 90 days
• 1 to 3 years: 120 days
• 3 to 5 years: 150 days
• 5 to 7 years: 180 days
• 7 to 8 years: 196 days
• 8 years or more: 224 days

That last number is worth pausing on. If you have rented the same property for eight years or more, your landlord must give you nearly eight months of notice before you have to leave. That is a significant amount of time to find alternative housing.

As a tenant, you can still end your tenancy with 28 days notice at any time, regardless of how long you have been renting.

Rent Increases: What Is Allowed?

In Rent Pressure Zones (which cover most of Dublin, Cork city, Galway city, and several other urban areas), rent increases are still capped at the lower of 2% per annum or the current CPI rate.

The new law adds some practical protections:

• Your landlord must give you 90 days written notice of any rent increase
• The notice must include the current rent, the proposed new rent, the date of the last rent review, and a calculation showing how the new rent was arrived at
• You have the right to refer any rent increase to the RTB if you believe it exceeds the permitted amount

Outside Rent Pressure Zones, landlords can only raise rent to market rate, and must provide three comparable properties with similar rents to justify the increase.

What This Means If You Are Currently Renting

Take a moment to think about your own situation. Consider the following:

When did your tenancy start? This determines your notice period and which rules apply to you.

Are you in a Rent Pressure Zone? You can check on the RTB website. If you are, your rent increases are capped.

When was your rent last reviewed? If your landlord has not reviewed your rent in more than 12 months, they cannot backdate any increase. The 90-day notice period starts from the date they serve the notice, not the date of the last review.

Is your tenancy registered with the RTB? Your landlord is legally required to register your tenancy within one month of it starting. If they have not, any notice they serve could be challenged as invalid.

The Landlord Exodus: Should You Be Worried?

The other side of this story is that private landlords are leaving the market. Notices of termination increased by 35% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the year before. Many landlords cite the regulatory burden as their reason for selling up.

This creates a paradox. The very protections designed to help tenants are, in some cases, accelerating the departure of landlords who would otherwise continue renting out their properties. The result: fewer rental properties on the market, which pushes up rents on the remaining stock.

The Government is betting that institutional investment and Cost Rental delivery will fill the gap. Whether that bet pays off is one of the defining questions of Irish housing policy over the next five years.

What You Should Do Now

• Know your rights. Read the RTB guide on the new legislation at rtb.ie
• Check your tenancy registration. You can verify it on the RTB website
• Keep records. Save every email, letter, and text message from your landlord. If a dispute arises, documentation is everything
• Do not sign anything you do not understand. If your landlord asks you to sign a new agreement, read it carefully or get advice from Threshold (the national housing charity)
• Report issues. If your landlord is not complying with the new rules, you can refer the matter to the RTB at no cost

The new rental laws are not a silver bullet. They will not solve the supply crisis or bring rents down. But they do give tenants significantly more security and predictability than they had before. And in a market where a single notice to quit can upend your entire life, that matters.