RTB Opening Statement to Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage - Residential Tenancies Board

Looking for information on Government changes to rental law from 1st March 2026? Read more here.

 

RTB Opening Statement to Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Back to News

Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025

Opening Statement by Rosemary Steen, Director of the Residential Tenancies Board on Tuesday 18 November 2025

Thank you, Chairperson and Members, for the invitation to attend this afternoon. I am

Rosemary Steen and I am Director of the Residential Tenancies Board. I am accompanied by my colleagues Louise Loughlin, Deputy Director and Sinéad Murphy, Head of Communications and Engagement with the RTB. We will be happy to answer Members’ questions, but first I

would like to read a short opening statement on pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025.

RTB role and remit

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is an independent public body that regulates Ireland’s rental sector. We regulate all private, Approved Housing Body, cost rental and student specific accommodation tenancies in Ireland.

Context for legislative changes

The legislative changes that we will discuss today take place in a context where it is generally accepted that more people will live for longer periods in the rental sector. Our research has tracked how the profile of Ireland’s rental sector continues to evolve to reflect this reality. For example, we have seen strong growth in new tenancy types such as cost rental and the

significant expansion of Approved Housing Body tenancies over the last two years. We have also seen the increasing role played by large landlords in providing a larger proportion of tenancies, in particular in Dublin.

 

The planned changes to rental law outlined in the General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025 represent the most significant programme of legislative changes since the Residential Tenancies Board was established in 2004. We welcome the focus of this Committee and our colleagues in the Department in progressing this important programme of legislative change.

 

As the regulator of Ireland’s rental sector, the role of the Residential Tenancies Board is to implement rental law. We are committed to working with our colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to facilitate the successful introduction of the planned changes from 1st March 2026.

 

Operational impacts of legislative changes

The RTB welcomes the proposed changes which will enhance our ability to regulate the rental sector efficiently and effectively. The RTB has worked closely with our colleagues in the Department over the last number of years to agree changes to the Residential Tenancies Act which would bring more efficiency to some RTB processes. For example, some key changes which I would like to highlight include:

 

  • The introduction of new financial penalties for breaches of registration requirements and rules on rent This will enable us to enforce regulatory requirements at a greater scale and pace.
  • Giving the RTB the power to enter and inspect a premises, with consent or under warrant, to ascertain if a tenancy should be
  • The provision for greater data sharing with Revenue will enhance our compliance It will also support the progression of dispute applications where a landlord’s details are unknown by the tenant or the RTB.
  • Allowing the RTB’s quasi-judicial functions to accept evidence from a member of An Garda Síochána or an officer of a housing authority in relation to disputes involving anti- social
  • The legal clarification that notices and documents can be served electronically by the RTB and others under the Residential Tenancies By reducing the requirement to send dispute documentation by post, this will enhance the efficiency of our dispute resolution service and allow more timely communication with case parties.
  • Giving the RTB access to the High Court, outside of Circuit Court sitting times, for urgent applications for reliefs – for example, in illegal eviction
  • Other changes to improve the efficiency of the RTB’s dispute resolution services, which include shortening the notice period required for a tribunal hearing from 21 to 10 days and changes to streamline the process to enforce RTB Determination

 

Alongside acknowledging the many positive developments, we must also acknowledge that the scale and complexity of the changes will understandably require significant operational adaptation. We are currently working through the operational details and implications with our colleagues in the Department.

 

The changes will require a comprehensive public information campaign together with significant updates to RTB processes and IT systems.

 

We have welcomed the significant uplift in RTB funding to meet these challenges, which was announced in Budget 2026. The €22.8 million in funding allocated for next year will be essential to provide the staff resources and IT system upgrades required to meet our expanded

responsibilities and requirements under the new legislation.

 

We are focused on developing solutions for anticipated operational developments arising from the legislation:

  • Based on experience from previous significant changes, such as the introduction of Rent Pressure Zones or annual registration, we expect a significant uplift in customer service contacts through phone, email and webchat channels as customers seek to clarify how new legislation applies to
  • We are currently reviewing our website content, forms, templates and IT systems and planning for changes that will be required to communicate and provide services to support multi-layered new rules and dual legislative The differentiation between landlords with 1-3 and 4 or more tenancies will require a reconfiguration of our IT systems. We will also require system updates to allow for processing of additional rent review and rent setting notices.
  • We welcome the move to introduce a rent price register as we believe it will provide tenants with more information about rent Like all information provided to the RTB it is self-declared.
  • The current ‘Check the RTB register’ function is an important incentive for landlords to comply with rental We are working closely with our colleagues in the Department to clarify how we can continue to provide a data protection compliant registration address check function.
  • We are currently undertaking further analysis to facilitate the operationalisation of using postal routing keys as a reference for rent setting and of the proposed three-month reference period.

The RTB has demonstrated capacity to rise to significant legislative changes in the past. While not underestimating the significant programme of work that lies ahead, I believe with strong support from the Department, we will do so again. In the last 12 months we have delivered

significant transformation projects that included delivering a new dispute resolution portal in eight months, delivering a new plain English website in just seven months and transitioning to a new customer service partner in just four months. These significant changes lay a strong

foundation upon which we will build as we work to implement the forthcoming changes.

 

Finally, I would like to thank the members of the Committee, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and his officials for their strong engagement with the RTB over recent months.