New rental rules: 45% of tenancies are with 'small landlords'

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Approximately 45 per cent of renters are in a tenancy arrangement with what the Government deems to be a “small landlord”.

Rental reforms announced by Minister James Browne on Tuesday draw a distinction between “large” and “small” landlords.

Large landlords, defined as having four or more tenancies, will be banned from carrying out no-fault evictions for tenancies beginning from March 1st, 2026.

A small landlord can end tenancies via a “no fault eviction” in limited circumstances, such as economic hardship or to move a family member in, but if they do that, they cannot reset the rent.

All landlords can end a tenancy where there is a breach of tenant obligations or where the dwelling is no longer suited to the tenants.

The cut-off point between a small and large decision is understood to have been a political decision around distinguishing “accidental” landlords with one or two properties from those engaged in “business activity”.

The Department also said that all landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy, unless a “no-fault eviction” occurs.

The new measures are designed to see a reduction in no-fault evictions.

Figures released by the Department of Housing show that 25.09 per cent of rental arrangements are with a landlord who has one tenancy alone.

Some 12.19 per cent of arrangements are with two-tenancy landlords, while 7.78 per cent are with three-tenancy landlords.

The data, which is from a point of time in the first quarter of the year, shows just over 45 per cent of tenancies are with so-called “small landlords”.

The figures are approximate as there are instances where a property is registered to more than one landlord.

For example, there are 69,036 one-tenancy landlords associated with 60,368 tenancies in that category.

There are 16,176 two-tenancy landlords for 29,330 homes, and 6,775 three-tenancy landlords associated with 18,719 properties.

In the range of “large landlords”, there are 3,544 in the category of having four tenancies – but this accounts for 13,161 tenancies, meaning some have been double counted.

There are 2,235 five-tenancy landlords associated with 10,370 arrangements or 4.31 per cent of the total.

There are 4,199 landlords with between 6 and 10 tenancies – accounting for 29,017 rental agreements (12.06 per cent).

There are 1,597 landlords with between 11 and 20 tenancies, associated with 8.54 per cent of the total or 20,548 of the overall number of tenancies.

There are 662 landlords with between 21 and 50 tenancies, associated with 18,334 rental arrangements (7.62 per cent).

There are 125 with between 51 and 100 tenancies, covering 8,132 homes or 3.38 per cent of the total.

Finally, 121 landlords have more than 101 tenancies – making up 13.56 per cent of the total (32,626 homes).