{"id":267265,"date":"2026-01-27T22:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/267265\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T22:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:58:10","slug":"small-landlords-can-issue-eviction-notice-at-any-time-under-new-rules-if-selling-to-pay-debts-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/267265\/","title":{"rendered":"Small landlords can issue eviction notice at any time under new rules if selling to pay debts \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Small landlords will be able to issue an eviction notice at any time during a tenancy where they are selling a property to service a debt or make another payment, under new rules being introduced by the Government. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">While officials expect the  rules will greatly reduce the number of evictions, there will be circumstances where a smaller landlord \u2013 defined as holding three or fewer tenancies \u2013 facing financial hardship can evict a tenant before selling up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Included in the definition of financial hardship will be situations where a smaller landlord intends to service a debt or make another payment with the proceeds of the sale. The payment must be equivalent to at least 15 per cent of the expected sale price. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">A smaller landlord seeking to do this will not have to wait until the end of a new tenancy of minimum duration, which under the new legislation must last six years. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The rental market reforms, which went to Cabinet on Tuesday, will come into effect from March 1st.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/01\/15\/rent-control-plan-unworkable-on-current-timeline-ipav-says\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rent control plan unworkable on current timeline, Ipav saysOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It is understood that a debt will not have to be in arrears in order to qualify as evidence of being in financial hardship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It is expected the legislation, which will be made available in the coming days before being debated by the Oireachtas, will also allow for a so-called \u201cvacant possession\u201d sale by smaller landlords in other circumstances of financial hardship, such as bankruptcy. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Tenants will be able to challenge such a step by seeking an adjudication from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/residential-tenancies-board-prtb\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/residential-tenancies-board-prtb\/\">Residential Tenancies Board<\/a>, which will have a significantly expanded remit in enforcing the new regulations. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Smaller landlords will also be able to sell up at any stage using a tenant-in-situ programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Minister for Housing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/james-browne\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/james-browne\/\">James Browne<\/a> said the reforms will strengthen the rights of tenants, but also help to drive supply and investment in rental properties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cOur housing crisis is a supply crisis, our rental crisis is a supply crisis, our homeless crisis is a supply crisis. The only way we\u2019re going to solve any of these is by increasing supply,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Officials expect that average rents will continue to drift upwards after the new regime is introduced, with no time frame available for when they might moderate &#8211; which they say will depend on how quickly new supply comes on-stream. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Under the new rules, annual rent increases will be capped at 2 per cent annually or the rate of consumer price inflation, or for new apartments, the rate of inflation only. When a new tenancy is established, landlords will be able to set the rent at a market rate, which will be informed by a rent price register. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">This will only be allowed where the previous tenant leaves of their own choice or has breached their obligations, or the property is no longer suitable  for the tenant\u2019s need. Rent resets will also be allowed at the end of each six-year tenancy of minimum duration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Student-specific accommodation is to have its current rent frozen until March 2029, at which point owners will be able to reset for another three-year period. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In the D\u00e1il, Taoiseach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/micheal-martin\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/micheal-martin\/\">Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> insisted the legislation would bring \u201can effective end to no-fault evictions\u201d. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/politics\/2026\/01\/13\/what-is-the-priority-legislation-coming-before-the-dail-this-term\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">What is the priority legislation coming before the D\u00e1il this term?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">He rejected claims by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/social-democrats\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/social-democrats\/\">Social Democrats<\/a> leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/holly-cairns\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/holly-cairns\/\">Holly Cairns<\/a> the legislation was \u201cthe latest betrayal\u201d of renters and those struggling to buy a home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"> He said Ms Cairns forgot to acknowledge that the tenancies of more than 240,000 people  currently renting \u201cwill not be impacted in any way by this legislation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"> Ms Cairns accused the Government of constantly being focused on protecting landlords\u2019 profits in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis when \u201crents have already doubled over the last  10 years\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Mr Martin said  what the Social Democrats have proposed for the past two to three years \u201cwould dampen supply, disincentivise investment and would not have any significant impact in terms of reducing rent\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The idea of a rent freeze is \u201cvery popular, but it would undermine the rental market very significantly and to such an extent that you would have a depression in supply\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Small landlords will be able to issue an eviction notice at any time during a tenancy where they&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,13696],"class_list":["post-267265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-residential-tenancies-board-prtb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}