Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2026
195. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether a six-year tenancy will roll into a possible ten-year lease for the original tenant who did not leave a property in circumstances (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10533/26]
View answer196. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the new tenancy legislation from March 2026 the way in which the property owner will then be able to reset the rent every six years, if they have tenants that are on two different rolling contracts; if it will be possible to charge different rents to people in the same property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10534/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.
My Department cannot provide legal advice. However, the provisions of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Bill) 2026, once enacted, will not affect the current application of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2025 (the RTA) in the circumstances referred to in the Question.
The RTA regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the RTA to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants.
Chapter 6 (Rules governing operation of Part in cases of multiple occupants) of Part 4 (Security of Tenure) of the RTA applies where a dwelling is subject to a single Part 4 tenancy - https://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2004/act/27/revised/en/html#PART4-CHAP6.
Part 3 (Rent and Rent Reviews), including section 20 (Frequency with which rent reviews may occur), of the RTA applies in the same manner to any dwelling the subject of a single Part 4 tenancy – i.e. irrespective of whether multiple tenants (and licensee(s)) are in occupation - https://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2004/act/27/revised/en/html#PART3.
Multiple tenants can be party to an individual tenancy of a (self-contained) dwelling. Part 4 tenancy rights accrue after 6 months’ duration of a tenancy. If one of the multiple tenants moves out and is replaced by a new multiple tenant, the Part 4 tenancy rights established by the first set of multiple tenants passes to the new multiple tenant once s/he is in situ under tenancy in the dwelling for 6 months. The tenancy ends if the multiple tenants collectively serve a notice of termination giving the required notice and specifying a terminate date or if the landlord serves a notice of termination in accordance with the RTA.
On 27 January 2026, the Government approved the publication of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026. 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 my Department.
The Bill and the related Explanatory Memorandum was published on 3 February 2026 and can be found here: https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2026/11/eng/initiated/b1126d.pdf; https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2026/11/eng/memo/b1126d-memo.pdf.
A detailed communications campaign by my 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/.
