There is a “lot of fear” among landlords ahead of the introduction of renting reforms and many are “panicking” and leaving the market, the Irish Property Owner Association has claimed. 

From 1st March 2026, all tenants will be covered by rent pressure zone rules - meaning their rent can be increased each year by 2% or the general rate of inflation, whichever is lower. 

It will also ban no fault evictions for the majority of renters. 

Housing Minister James Browne said this will mean tenants will “benefit from substantially improved tenancy protections.”

On The Pat Kenny Show, Irish Property Owner Association Chairperson Mary Conway said many of her members are “panicking” and selling up. 

“Only time will tell whether they’re right or not,” she said. 

“There is a lot of fear around what happens next.” 

A man walking past 'For Sale' signs in Dublin. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie.

Ms Conway continued that the introduction of six year minimum tenancies has also concerned many of her members. 

“You could say that’s what has happened in previous years but the difficulty is if the landlord goes to sell after March next year, he has to sell to another landlord,” she said. 

“We’re not sure how that’s going to work, if there’s going to be investors in the market that will buy the property. 

“So, there’s just so much confusion around the moment, nothing has been passed in legislation. 

“So, it’ll be interesting to see how it all works out.” 

A home for sale. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Ms Conway also criticised the Tenant in Situ Scheme, which she described as a “fantastic scheme” in theory, but hard to implement in practise. 

“In reality, it’s a very slow process,” she said. 

“A landlord may have issued a termination notice, has contacted the council to see whether they’ll buy the property and the notice period is gone even before they’ve got a response from the council. 

“Or if the council does decide to buy the property, it’s delayed with surveys and inspections - all kinds of things - and the landlord gives up. 

“Really, you can’t wait nine to 12 months, in some cases, 24 months for the sale to be completed.” 

Main image: For Sale signs in Dublin. Picture by: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.