Renting in Ireland, 2026: what changed, what is coming, and what is only proposed

In force

• RTB adjudication hearings public, the parties named · from 14 Sep 2026

  For applications made from 14 September 2026, adjudication hearings are public and the published report names both parties and the address. Mediation stays private. A weekly hearing list is published.

  Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, commenced by S.I. 434/2026

• Seven days to send the RTB a copy of a notice · from 14 Sep 2026

  A landlord must send the RTB a copy of a notice of termination within 7 days of serving it, or the notice is invalid. From 1 March to 13 September 2026 the copy had to go the same day. The RTB now says termination notices should not be posted.

  Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• Fixed payment notices for rent and registration breaches · from 14 Sep 2026

  The RTB can issue a fixed payment notice of €200 for a rent breach and €100 for the other registration and rent-information breaches, with higher amounts possible by order. The amounts await a hand check against the commencement order.

  Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• One national rent cap: 2% or inflation, whichever is lower · from 1 Mar 2026

  Rent Pressure Zones ended on 28 February 2026. From 1 March 2026 a rent may be reviewed once in 12 months and raised by no more than 2% or the annual change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower, never above market rent. Newly built apartments started after 10 June 2025 may rise with CPI with no 2% ceiling.

  Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• Tenancies of Minimum Duration: six-year cycles · from 1 Mar 2026

  A tenancy that began on or after 1 March 2026 becomes a Tenancy of Minimum Duration after six months, running in six-year cycles. Tenancies that began between 11 June 2022 and 28 February 2026 stay tenancies of unlimited duration.

  Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• Smaller and larger landlords: fewer grounds for the larger · from 1 Mar 2026

  For tenancies from 1 March 2026 a landlord with four or more tenancies, or any company, cannot end a tenancy to sell, to move family in, to refurbish or to change use. A smaller landlord (three or fewer) may, during the six years, for close family occupation or a hardship sale, and at the end of a cycle for the four grounds.

  Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• 90 days to dispute a notice, and a reason on every notice · from 1 Mar 2026

  The time to refer a notice of termination to the RTB rose from 28 to 90 days (28 for a breach notice), and every notice must state a reason, including one in the first six months.

  Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• Market rent reset only after a tenant-led ending or a cycle end · from 1 Mar 2026

  For tenancies from 1 March 2026 a landlord may set a new tenancy's rent to market only where the previous tenancy ended by the tenant's choice, a tenant breach or unsuitability, and at the end of each six-year cycle; never after a no-fault termination for two years.

  Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

• Rent tax credit €1,150 and rent-a-room €16,000 for 2027 (announced) · from 1 Jan 2027

  Budget 2027 on 6 October 2026 announced a rise in the rent tax credit to €1,150 for a single person and €2,300 for a couple for 2027 and 2028, and a rise in the rent-a-room threshold to €16,000 from 1 January 2027. Both wait on the Finance Act 2026.

  Announced in Budget 2027; the Finance Bill 2026 has to pass

What did not change

• The notice periods a landlord must give: 90 days under six months, 152 days to a year, 180 days to seven years, 196 days to eight, 224 days after that; 28 days for a breach after a warning; 7 days for serious anti-social behaviour. The same for smaller and larger landlords.
• A deposit and advance rent capped at one month's rent each, since 9 August 2021; held by the landlord, returned promptly, with no statutory number of days.
• The deposit protection scheme in the 2015 Act is still not commenced, eleven years on.
• The RTB fees: mediation free, adjudication €30, a tribunal appeal €30 after mediation or €85 after adjudication, within 10 working days.
• Damages for illegal eviction and other breaches capped at €20,000.
• The HAP rent limits of 2017, with discretion of up to 35% (50% for Homeless HAP in Dublin), under a review that had not reported by 27 October 2026.
• A landlord may not refuse a tenant because of HAP (Equal Status Acts, the housing assistance ground).

Enacted, not yet applied

Proposed, not law

Every item below is labelled proposed. None of it applies to anyone yet. There is no Irish “Renters’ Rights Act”: that is an English law.

• 27 October 2026 · Official record

  CPI for September 2026 corrected to 4.1%: the cap is 2%

  The CSO's September 2026 release of 8 October 2026 put the annual change in the Consumer Price Index at 4.1%. The rules config had carried 1.9%; it now carries 4.1%, so the lower arm of the rent cap for a review notice served from 8 October 2026 is the 2% ceiling. The rent increase checker and the rent guides were updated.

  CSO: Consumer Price Index September 2026

• 27 October 2026 · Official record

  Site launched with the position at 27 October 2026

  Every rule in the rules config was read from its source on this date: the RTB's pages on the March and September 2026 changes, the Oireachtas Library's Bill Digest, Revenue's rent credit page, the 2017 HAP regulations and the Budget 2027 announcements marked as announced.

  RTB: rental law changes from 1 March 2026

• 6 October 2026 · Official record

  Budget 2027: rent tax credit to €1,150, rent-a-room threshold to €16,000

  Announced on Budget day for 2027 and entered in the rules config as announced figures with their effective dates; the Finance Act 2026 will confirm them.

  gov.ie: Budget 2027

• 14 September 2026 · Official record

  Public RTB hearings, fixed payment notices and the 7-day copy rule begin

  S.I. 434/2026 commenced most of the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026. Adjudication hearings are public for applications from this date; the RTB recommends email or hand delivery for termination notices after Argutinski v RTB [2026] IEHC 225.

  RTB: important changes to rental law from 14 September 2026

• 3 September 2026 · Official record

  RTB: 4,031 notices of termination in Q2 2026, down 42.9% on Q1

  The Director's Quarterly Update reported 4,031 notices in the second quarter, 50.2% because the landlord intends to sell, and 241,072 registered private tenancies. The Rent Index for Q1 2026 put new-tenancy rents at €1,839 a month, up 9.1% on the year.

  RTB: news, 3 September 2026

• 7 May 2026 · Official record

  Temporary Prohibition of Termination Notices Bill published

  A Private Member's Bill to pause no-fault notices was published and awaits Second Stage. It is not law and no moratorium is in force.

  Oireachtas: Bill 45 of 2026