15th January 2026
New Rent Rules – It Will Take a Miracle to Achieve March 1st Deadline – IPAV
A miracle will be required for the Residential Tenancies Board to be ready to implement the Government’s new rent control measures from 1st March, despite expanded resources being allocated to the agency, IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, has said.
Genevieve McGuirk, IPAV’s Chief Executive, said it is envisaged by the government that the RTB would have a new register in place to deal with the legislation.
Significant logistical and IT resources will be required to implement the revised public register which will include: number of bedrooms; floor area; BER rating and rent payable.
Information will be searchable by postcode, not by individual property addresses, for data-protection reasons.
Ms McGuirk said there is growing concern that the RTB may not be able to implement these changes by March 1st.
“Floor area data currently held may be inaccurate in many cases,” she said. “Landlords and agents will require training and time to familiarise themselves with the new system, and the new definition of market rent, which depends heavily on this register, cannot operate reliably until the register is complete and functional.”
She said Landlords will also require rent calculation details and three comparators.
“The RTB is already under severe pressure with its current workload,” she said. “And there’s an existing backlog in dealing with dispute resolutions, for example.
“Realistically, therefore, we believe a minimum six-month lead-in period after enactment will be necessary. Otherwise, there is a grave risk that we could see a period of chaos with major delays being encountered for renters, property owners’ and agents,” she warned.
Welcoming the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the proposed new legislation, (The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025), to which IPAV contributed, Ms McGuirk said: “As the report noted, not a single contributor from a very diverse range of organisations that participated believed the proposed reforms will lead to a reduction in rents.
“And neither is the legislation going to reduce homelessness. The absolute priority should be measures to build more homes.”
Here, she said, the work of the Accelerating Infrastructure Task Force was giving rise to optimism, although results are not likely to be immediate.
Ends