Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 June 2025
123. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how full-time students living in privately rented accommodation on leases of less than six years will be protected from having to pay exorbitant rent increases from 1 March 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34937/25]
View answerOn 10 June 2025, the Government approved stronger tenancy protections and greater certainty for the rental sector, including the introduction of a national rent control, as part of a suite of measures to boost the supply of new homes and secure and grow the availability of rental accommodation.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2025 was signed into law on 19 June 2025. The Act came into operation on 20 June 2025 to immediately extend and expand the operation of Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) to cover the entire country until 28 February 2026. Further legislation is being developed to apply stronger tenancy protections to new tenancies created (i.e. first time tenancies between parties) from 1 March 2026. With the exception of new build apartments, annual rent increases in all new tenancies created after 1 March 2026 will be capped at the level of inflation (CPI) up to a maximum of 2%. For new build apartments, annual rent increases will be capped at the level of inflation (CPI).
For such tenancies, unless a 'no fault eviction' occurs, a landlord will be allowed to set the rent to market value at the start of the tenancy and at the end of every 6-year period that the tenancy continues to exist.
In order to provide greater security of tenure to tenants, legislative changes will apply to significantly restrict ‘no fault evictions’. These changes will significantly enhance the current provision of tenancies of unlimited duration with the introduction of tenancies of minimum duration (TMD), involving rolling 6-year tenancies, for any new tenancy created on/after 1 March 2026 by a smaller landlord (with 3 or fewer tenancies) with a new tenant.
I will continue to engage with the Office of the Attorney General and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science during the drafting of legislation on the tailored arrangements to apply to student specific accommodation. Increasing the availability of suitable, financially accessible student accommodation is a key policy priority for Government and will be addressed in the new Student Accommodation Strategy, being developed by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for publication later this year. Affordability and equity will be at core of the Strategy.
