Rental Law Overhaul: New Rules on Rent, Tenancies, and Evictions Take Effect in Cork from 1st March

Major changes to Ireland's rental laws will come into force on Saturday, 1st March 2026, introducing stronger tenant protections, a new national rent control system, and stricter rules on how landlords can end tenancies. The Residential Tenancies Board has launched a public information campaign to help tenants and landlords in Cork understand what the reforms mean for them.

The new legislation, which applies only to tenancy agreements entered into from 1st March 2026, brings in rolling six-year minimum tenancies, caps annual rent increases at 2 per cent or inflation (whichever is lower), and limits the grounds on which landlords can terminate a tenancy. Existing tenancies will not be affected, and the new laws do not alter the terms of current agreements, the RTB has confirmed.

How Rent Will Be Set

From 1st March, landlords must provide a rent setting or rent review notice to both the RTB and their tenant explaining how the new rent level was determined. Landlords will be required to supply three examples of rents paid for comparable properties, drawn from a new online tool: the RTB Rent Register.

The Rent Register, which goes live on 1st March, draws on RTB tenancy registration data and is updated daily. Landlords can search for rents paid for similar tenancies in the same Local Electoral Area by entering details such as dwelling type, floor area, number of bedrooms, and BER rating.

Under the new national rent control system, rent can only be increased once per year by 2 per cent, or by inflation if that figure is lower, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. For private tenancies created after 1st March, landlords may re-set rent to market rate only in specific circumstances: when a new tenancy begins, provided the previous tenancy ended because the tenant left by choice, breached their obligations, or the property was no longer suitable for their needs; or at the end of a six-year tenancy cycle. Re-setting to market rent is not permitted for existing tenancies created before 1st March 2026.

Different rules apply to new-build apartments and Student Specific Accommodation where construction commenced from 10th June 2025; annual increases in those cases can follow CPI with no 2 per cent cap. National rent control rules do not apply to Approved Housing Body or cost rental tenancies.

New Rules on Ending a Tenancy

Under the reforms, all landlords may end a tenancy in the first six months for any reason. After six months, a tenancy can only be ended for specific legal reasons, and these depend on when the tenancy began and how many tenancies the landlord holds.

For tenancies created from 1st March 2026, all landlords can end a tenancy if a tenant breaches their obligations or if the property is no longer suitable for the tenant's needs. For landlords with four or more tenancies, or company landlords, these are the only permitted grounds.

Landlords with one to three tenancies have additional options. During a six-year tenancy cycle, they may end a tenancy if they need to sell to avoid undue financial or other hardship, or if the landlord or a close family member needs to live in the property. At the end of a six-year cycle, further grounds include selling the property, substantial refurbishment, or a change of use.

For tenancies created before 1st March 2026, the existing six grounds for ending a tenancy remain unchanged, with no distinction based on the number of tenancies held.

RTB Launches Information Campaign

Rosemary Steen, Director of the Residential Tenancies Board:

"The new rental law changes coming into effect on 1st March mark a significant step forward in strengthening tenant protections and providing regulatory certainty for landlords. New minimum six-year tenancies will provide greater stability for renters while new rent setting rules will bring increased transparency to how rent levels are set. The new RTB Rent Register will support transparency by providing landlords and tenants in Cork with up-to-date information on rents paid for similar properties from the national register of tenancies."

Dedicated resources for tenants and landlords are now available on the RTB.ie website, with a national advertising campaign across traditional, digital, and social media platforms beginning tomorrow, 26th February. The RTB is also calling on landlords to register for a series of educational webinars over the coming three weeks to support compliance with the new laws.