Why 42,300 Small Landlords Left the Irish Market, and How the Survivors Stay Profitable

Between January 2020 and the end of March 2025, Sherry FitzGerald estimates that approximately 42,300 rental properties left private hands in Ireland. Most of those exits were small landlords with one to three properties. Many were accidental landlords from the early 2010s who held on through one rent freeze too many.

The headline number is striking but the more useful question is: why? And, more usefully still: what are the small landlords who stayed actually doing differently?

This piece looks at the three structural reasons for the exit, and at the operating model the survivors have converged on. If you are a 1-10 property landlord deciding whether to sell, refinance, or keep going, this is for you.

The three reasons small landlords are leaving

The exit is not random. It clusters around three specific pressure points.

One: tax treatment. Mortgage interest is fully deductible against rental income but the rental profit itself is taxed at the marginal rate, often 52% once USC and PRSI are added. A landlord with a EUR 1,800 monthly rent and a EUR 1,200 mortgage payment is not netting EUR 600. After tax, agency fees and maintenance, the typical small landlord nets closer to EUR 100-200 a month per property.

Two: regulatory drag. RTB registration, Rent Pressure Zone calculations covered in our RPZ guide, S.I. 137 minimum standards, BER certification, the new six-year minimum tenancy term. Each is reasonable on its own. Stacked together, they push the operating cost per property up by hours, not minutes.

Three: the rent gap. A landlord with a 2017 tenancy may be charging EUR 1,400 against a market rent of EUR 2,200. The 2% cap means closing that gap takes more than a decade, and selling captures the gap immediately at the cost of a tenant losing their home. Most tenant-friendly landlords resist that choice for as long as possible. Eventually the maths wins.

What the surviving landlords do differently

The 1-10 property landlords still operating profitably in 2026 have a recognisable profile.

• They use software that handles RTB registration, RPZ-compliant rent reviews, S.I. 137 inspection schedules and arrears chasing, all in one place.
• They have moved rent collection to direct debit through open banking, eliminating chase costs and reducing arrears risk.
• They keep tenants for 5+ years deliberately, even at a slightly below-market rent, because turnover is the single biggest cost driver.
• They take photos and document compliance routinely so any RTB dispute is decided on paperwork they already have.

None of these are heroic. They are operational hygiene, applied consistently. The landlords leaving the market are the ones who never built the operational layer in the first place.

The corporate route

A subset of small landlords have not exited at all, they have incorporated. Holding rental property through a company changes the tax treatment (12.5% trading rate is not available for passive rental income, but 25% close-company surcharge rules apply). For a portfolio of 5+ properties the corporate structure can produce a higher effective net yield, especially when reinvesting.

This is a tax-advice topic, not a software topic, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we will say is that the operational requirements for an incorporated portfolio are higher, not lower, because audit and CRO compliance get layered on top of RTB compliance. Rentalize Core is the platform our incorporated customers use because it produces the audit trail and reporting both regulators want.

Should you stay or sell?

If your operating cost per property per year is over EUR 800 (agency fees, accountancy, repairs above wear and tear), and your rent gap is widening, the maths is increasingly hard. The honest answer is that for some small landlords selling is the right call.

If your operating cost is under EUR 400, your tenant is long-standing, and your mortgage is in the back half of its term, the maths still works. The job then is to keep that operating cost low and your compliance airtight. That is exactly what Rentalize 360 is designed for.

How Rentalize handles this for you

Rentalize 360 is the mobile-first product for landlords with 1-10 properties. It handles RTB registration reminders, RPZ-compliant rent reviews against the live HICP feed, S.I. 137 inspection scheduling, tenant communications, and direct-debit rent collection through Rentalize Pay.

The pitch is operational, not aspirational: if you are spending more than two hours a month per property on admin, the platform pays for itself.

Frequently asked questions

How many small landlords have left the Irish market?

Sherry FitzGerald estimates a net loss of approximately 42,300 private rental properties between January 2020 and the end of March 2025.

Is it still profitable to be a small landlord in Ireland in 2026?

It can be, but only with low operating costs and long-running tenancies. The marginal portfolio is a single property with a recent purchase, an agency arrangement, and a high turnover rate.

Should I incorporate my rental portfolio?

It depends on portfolio size, tax position and reinvestment plans. Speak to a tax adviser. The operational layer is the same in either case.

What is the biggest operating cost driver for a small landlord?

Tenant turnover. A re-let costs more than a year of below-market rent in most cases, between agency, vacancy and works.

Does software actually move the needle for a 1-3 property portfolio?

Yes, primarily by removing the chase costs. Direct-debit rent collection and automated compliance reminders eliminate the unpaid hours that turn a marginal portfolio into a loss-making one.

If you would like to see how Rentalize handles this in practice, you can book a 20-minute walkthrough. We will use one of your own properties as the worked example.