3rd February 2026
New Rent Bill Far More Onerous on Landlords and Agents
Responding to the publication this afternoon of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, said while it would be studying the Bill in greater detail, on an initial reading it appears to place more onerous conditions than initially thought on landlords and agents, conditions that could prove difficult.
Genevieve McGuirk, IPAV Chief Executive said: “The Bill provides no leeway whatever for landlords operating as companies or with more than three tenancies who may face financial or other difficulties, there is no hardship clause or in cases of change of use of a building, for example.
“These changes will affect current practice, the rights of large landlords to terminate a tenancy on the basis that the landlord intends to carry out substantial renovations or to change the use of the dwelling. This renders it very difficult to work in practice, for example, in the event of storm damage, fire damage or flooding.”
And she said in the case of landlords with three or fewer tenancies the rules are stricter than originally set out. The legislation now states that in cases where such landlords end tenancies in order to sell their properties, among the new conditions are that the sale proceeds must be required to fund a principal private residence; or the sale proceeds must be required to discharge more that 15% of expected consideration in debt or tax.
“These are very strict conditions, and the worry is that if it becomes law, it will further exacerbate the exit of small landlords from the market,” Ms McGuirk said.
That said, there are some positives such as the amendment which will allow landlords and tenants to serve notices under the act by email or other electronic means avoiding uncertainty and delay, she said, along with an obligation on a tenant to allow a landlord or his/her agent reasonable access to the dwelling to arrange viewings if the property is to be sold.
Ms McGuirk said, among further concerns are the new definition of ‘market rent’ which places reliance on a new published register of tenancies to be in place for March 1st.
And she said the Bill places a huge onus of responsibility on agents to oversee and ensure that their landlord clients are complying. “There is a new criminal offence that will broaden the scope of criminal liability around rent reviews. This level of criminal sanction seems inappropriate and disproportionate to the aims to be achieved which could be accomplished in other ways,” she said. “Landlords or agents should not be criminalised for administrative error.
“The worry would be that the administrative burden, already arduous, will increase hugely,” she said.
Ends