The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has expressed concern on rent increases, particularly outside the capital, despite a sharp decrease in eviction notices by landlords to tenants in the second quarter of this year.
RTB director Rosemary Steen said growth in rent levels seems to be mainly in the cities outside the capital with rises high in the cities of Cork, Limerick and Galway where new rents rose above €2,000 for the first time.
“This was the first time we saw Galway City going over €2,000 per month … so the key trend we’re noticing is that the rate of increase in Dublin is starting to stabilise, but in cities outside Dublin, the rate of increase is high, and that’s the concern,” she said.
Overall, evictions dropped by 42.9% compared to the first three months of 2026.
There were 4,031 termination notices issued by landlords between April and June according to the figures from the RTB.
The RTB said this shows “continued signs of stabilisation and adjustment” to new rental law reform which came into effect in March 2026.
The new laws are intended to provide more protections to tenants. Property owners had previously warned that the new rules were forcing some landlords to leave the market.
The RTB director said the sharp decline in the second quarter of this year indicates that unusually high volumes of landlords leaving the market in the first quarter was temporary rather than a sustained trend.
“There’s been a small decline of about less than 300 landlords in the smaller one to two tenancies, so where supply has increased in Dublin, where you have the presence of the larger landlords, rent is stabilising and in markets outside of Dublin, where you don’t have that large landlord presence, rents are increasing,” she said.
Ms Steen said there will be more clarity on this when the next set of quarterly figures are released.
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The latest figures also show that the average rent for new tenancies nationally increased by 9.1% annually to €1,839 per month.
Under the national rent control system introduced in March, rent can increase once a year by 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.
Rachel Slaymaker, research officer with the ESRI, said it “is too early to say how much of this is an initial reaction to the new regulations or to what extent”.
Rent prices for existing tenancies remain moderate with a 4.2% annual increase.
It is estimated that those in existing rental properties are paying on average €326 less than new tenants.
While property supply remains “tight” the number of tenancies nationally has risen to 306,313 driven by “strong growth in cost rental and AHB tenancies,” Ms Steen said.
There has been a slight increase in the number of landlords with 105,555 recorded.
New rules to come into effect
The number of large landlords with more than 100 properties is increasing, particularly in the Dublin region where they account for almost one third of private tenancies.
Nationwide, these large landlords account for 15.5% of all private tenancies.
More than 50% of landlords who issued notices of termination in the second quarter of this year said they intended to sell the property.
There are further changes on the way in the rental market to ensure more compliance with rental laws.
New rules will come into effect from 14 September for new tenancies.
It will give the RTB more power to fine landlords for six breaches of rental law.
These include failure to register a tenancy, setting rent above the legal limit and failure to provide a rent review notice correctly.
Ms Steen said the RTB welcomes the new measures.
“Basically, it is going to be compulsory to submit those notices to the RTB and that we must receive them on the day that the tenant receives them as part of the changes that have been made,” she said.
“We also need to make sure that we then review the data, particularly in the counties where we’re seeing significant increases in rent levels.”
Ms Steen added that the RTB “will be applying measures through fixed penalty notices to landlords who set rents higher than would be allowed under the existing legislation.”
