Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
436. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when existing purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) developments will be permitted to reset rents to market levels under new rent control rules that come into effect in April 2026, if it has been drawn to his attention that the current wording is unclear; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70977/25]
View answerOn 14 October 2025, the Government approved the General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025, which is now the subject of priority drafting by the Office of Parliamentary Council and pre legislative scrutiny by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Bill will amend the current system of rent controls and provide new measures to protect tenants, including stronger security of tenure, to come into effect for new tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026. The impending Bill is informed by a review of the Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) carried out by the Housing Agency, as requested by the Department.
The key elements of the General Scheme of the Bill relating to student specific accommodation (SSA) are summarised below:
• the current ability to set to market rate will continue to apply to the first rent setting for:
• a new tenancy/licence (i.e. created on or after 1 March 2026) in new SSA (i.e. development commenced on or after 10 June 2025); and
• a tenancy/licence after a substantial change to existing SSA (i.e. development commenced before 10 June 2025) that warrants a greater rent;
• SSA providers will not be able to reset to market rent in respect of existing SSA until the first rent setting on or after 1 March 2029; thereafter, rent resetting can only occur for the first rent setting after the third anniversary of the date that the rent was last set to market rent;
• in respect of new SSA, rent resetting can also only occur for the first rent setting after the third anniversary of the date that the rent was last set to market rent. For example, if a new SSA comes on stream on 3 April 2027 setting a market rent, that rent can be re-set to market rent upon the first rent setting on or after 3 April 2030. If the rent is re-set on 3 April 2030, it can be re-set on or after 3 April 2033 and so on;
• annual rent increases will be subject to a cap of 2% per annum pro rata or CPI, whichever is lower, for existing SSA at a time when rent re-setting to market rent is not allowed;
• annual rent increases will only be subject to a cap of CPI for new SSA at a time when rent re-setting to market rent is not allowed.
A detailed communications campaign by this Department, in conjunction with the RTB, will continue to publicise the new legislative measures from 1 March 2026.
Up-to-date information is available at: []www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/government-reforms-to-the-rental-sector-starting-1-march-2026/.
The information provided in this reply is based on the policy measures approved by the Government on 10 June 2025 to come into effect on 1 March 2026, in order to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent and keep existing landlords in the market. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill will be published as soon as possible and will be subject to debate, and open to amendment, during the legislative process in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
