knowledge 13 November 2025 |

Residential rental sector reforms: What’s new in Government Q&A

Student-specific accommodation

The Q&A confirms that rent control rules “will apply to all SSA during the first 3 years of operation of the new national rent control”.  It continues, that SSA “can reset its rents to market rates after 3 years and after every 3-year period that follows, while it continues to operate as SSA.”

Taken together, this means that the first opportunity to reset rates to market for SSA will arise only after the first 3-year period of the new regime ie from 1 March 2029. However, for SSA providers the application of this in practice may not be as it first seems. This is because a March reset date has no place in the SSA calendar and the SSA operating model is to sell rooms almost a year in advance. If this proposal remains as suggested, it could mean a delay in market re-basing for current SSA providers of 5 years.

In terms of annual rate increases for SSA, we know from the announcements earlier in the year that an exception to the 2% cap on annual rent increases will apply for new apartments built on foot of a commencement notice lodged on or after 10 June 2025. The Q&A now appears to apply that same exception to SSA. This would mean that once SSA which commenced construction after 10 June 2025 is first let (at market rates), increases in rates for that SSA will be capped at increases in inflation only and the further 2% cap will have no application.

Rent resets generally: scope and safeguards

Other than for SSA, the Q&A confirms that resets to market rent will be permitted when a tenant leaves voluntarily and where a landlord terminates a tenancy because of the tenant’s breach or because the dwelling no longer meets the tenant’s needs. As part of the new reforms, tenant security of tenure will be linked to rolling 6-year “tenancies of minimum duration” (TMDs). Market rent resets will also be allowed during a tenancy at the end of each 6-year TMD.  Resetting rents to market will not be allowed where the landlord exercises certain other limited statutory rights to terminate eg to facilitate the sale, renovation or change of use of a property or where the property is required for the landlord’s own or family accommodation needs. This is consistent with the policy intent, flagged in June, to avoid the potential for rent-resetting opportunities to drive evictions.  These other statutory rights of termination for landlords will also be restricted further as part of the new reforms.

While the reset triggers are now clear at a high level, important operational questions remain for mixed occupancy situations, successor tenants, and partial changes in multi-tenant dwellings.  The Q&A recognises at least one such scenario for rental properties generally, confirming that where some tenants change but others remain, the arrangement is not a “new tenancy”.  Market reset rules will not apply.  We will look to the Bill for a more comprehensive understanding of how the new measures will apply across the various occupancy situations.

Rent increases: CPI link with a 2% cap, and a targeted exception for new-build apartments and SSA

Other than where a reset is allowed, the Q&A confirms that from 1 March 2026, annual rent increases will be linked to CPI nationwide, subject to a 2% cap in periods of high inflation. The Q&A confirms a carve-out for newly built apartments which commenced construction from 10 June 2025 and, as we say above, appears to extend that to SSA, so that annual increases for those new-builds will follow CPI only, without the further 2% cap. This is intended to support new supply in apartments and SSA.

Security of tenure: tenancies of minimum duration and landlord size

The Q&A confirms the 10 June announcements on the security of tenure reforms (set out in our briefing of 11 June here). TMDs will arise after 6 months’ occupation for tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026, rolling on for 6-year periods. Larger landlords (4 or more tenancies) will be significantly constrained in termination grounds, with very little possibility of termination where there is “no fault” on the tenant’s part. The requirements of larger landlords to achieve refurbishment and redevelopment is not addressed in the Q&A but is something that we would hope is being considered, so that it can be appropriately dealt with in the legislation.  Smaller landlords (3 or fewer tenancies) will also have very limited termination grounds during each 6-year TMD, but will have a time limited window at the end of each TMD to terminate for the range of specific reasons that are currently allowed, such as sale with vacant possession, substantial refurbishment or change of use, or own/family occupation.  The Q&A confirms that the categorisation as a small or large landlord turns on the number of tenancies, not the number of properties. We await the legislative definitions, evidential requirements, and timing windows that will inform how this will all work in practice.

Sale with tenant in situ and vacant possession pathways

The Q&A reiterates that, as a matter of general law, all landlords may sell with tenants in situ at any time and may sell with vacant possession where a tenant has left voluntarily. Smaller landlords will also have a vacant possession route at the end of each 6-year TMD, within prescribed windows. Again, the precise interaction of these sale pathways with rent resets, notice requirements, and RTB processes will need to be read in tandem once the Bill is published.

Rent register

The Government indicates that rent amounts will be included on the RTB’s published register without disclosing addresses or the identities of landlords or tenants, and that work is underway with the Data Protection Commissioner to ensure compliance.

Timelines, transition and conclusion

The current nationwide RPZ designation runs to 28 February 2026, when it is expected to be renewed again from 1 March 2026. The rest of the 10 June 2025 reforms are also intended to commence on 1 March 2026. The Q&A scenarios confirm that the new rules will apply only to tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026 but several points remain to be settled by the legislation. Transitional issues will therefore arise for ongoing tenancies, partial household changes, and re-lettings straddling that date. The Q&A has addressed one common scenario but in the absence of a fuller suite of transitional provisions, being as informed and prepared as possible will be critical for landlords and tenants to avoid unintended outcomes.

For general PRS investors and managers, the direction of travel now looks settled: CPI linked controls with a 2% cap, controlled but real opportunities to re-base to market value, and materially constrained “no fault” terminations for larger landlords.  Preservation of capital and letting values by refurbishment and redevelopment and an ability to ensure that property meets required standards is fundamentally important to all investors and owners of property.  There may yet be some pathway laid out for all landlords to achieve that in the draft legislation. 

For SSA providers, the newly announced proposals for a 3-year reset cycle will weigh heavily, as it could mean that they face below-market rates at existing locations for a further 5 years.  Again, the draft legislation may bring some adjustment to these proposals to balance student protections with the need to incentivise supply and investment.

We are staying close to developments and will update our analysis when the Bill is published.