Ireland’s new era of rent control

The Act applies a new set of rules for all residential lettings created anywhere in Ireland on or after 1 March 2026 and, for the first time, distinguishes between the private rental sector (PRS) and purpose built student accommodation (PBSA). This might not altogether be good news for PBSA in Ireland.

At the end of this article, you’ll find a table with the key updates - including how the PRS rules compare with the PBSA framework - to help you get a clear view of what’s changing. 

PRS 

Whilst the Act clearly provides for improved security for tenants, the trade-off might be affordability and higher rents. One wonders if these new rules will encourage more commercial arrangements that end existing PRS tenancies early, such as the payment of key money to tenants, to enable landlords regain control of properties so rents can be reset to open market levels? 

On the other hand, given Ireland’s well-publicised housing crisis, are we now finally seeing a shift in government policy, designed to stabilise and incentivise renewed and much needed investment in the construction of new PRS developments? The government has made it clear that it wants private capital to enter the market, and remain in the market, to expand the supply of properties available to rent, to encourage more construction of apartments and to maintain the quality of properties.

These are positive changes for PRS, and coupled with the VAT reduction on the sale of completed apartments, should help narrow the viability gap on the delivery of new PRS developments.  

PBSA restrictions 

The same cannot be said for PBSA in Ireland, where viability issues remain. Whilst the fixed cap on annual rent reviews has been removed on new PBSA developments, student accommodation providers can only reset rents to market levels once every 3 years, and for existing developments are prohibited from doing so until March 2029 at the earliest. The thinking here is that there may be a higher turnover of student leases each year, and so to avoid rents being reset every year. 

There appears to be a huge appetite to invest and develop PBSA in Ireland, with sites ready to go with planning permission. However, applying a more restrictive rent control regime than PRS, and limiting lease terms to 41 weeks, does not incentivise private capital to invest and deliver PBSA. There remains a disconnect between a 10% targeted growth of international students in Ireland and policy to deliver the required accommodation. 

Short Term Lets, enforcement and registration

Another recent change that could boost the return of existing stock to the rental market, yet at the same time curtail the business of short term lets, like Airbnb. The Act applies national rent controls across Ireland, equivalent to the entire of Ireland being a ‘rent pressure zone’. Since 2019 any person renting out its property in a rent pressure zone for stays of 14 days or less, being a short term let, requires planning permission for that specific use. Failure to comply would be a breach of the Planning Acts, leaving a host open to enforcement action by their local authority, and a large fine. 

Whether this change has any real effect will depend on the level of enforcement by local authorities. That said, from May 2026 there will be a new requirement for short term lets to register with Fáilte Ireland. This may result in the short term letting companies self-policing compliance by their own hosts, such that if a host does not register, and evidence planning permission (or exemption) the property will be unavailable on that platform. All websites offering short term lets will need to display its short-term letting registration number or face a fine. 

Conclusion

Ireland is still seen as a core investment market for large scale residential investment if we can deliver clear and stable policy going forward, and a predictable and stable investment environment.