Almost two-thirds of tenant termination notices in third quarter due to landlords intending to sell up

Almost two-thirds of notices of termination served on tenants in the third quarter of this year were as a result of a landlord intending to sell the property, amid concerns the private rental sector will continue to shrink this year.

According to the latest data from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), published on Thursday, there were a total of 4,518 notices to quit served to tenants between July and September 2023.

This is a decrease on the number served in the second quarter of the year, during which 5,735 notices were served.

Of those 4,518, a total of 2,863 were because the landlord intends to sell the property, while 686 were served because of a breach in tenant obligations and 666 were because a landlord or a landlords’ family member intended to move into the property.

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In Dublin, where pressure in the rental sector is particularly acute, 1,863 notices of termination were issued during the third quarter, a reduction on the 2,298 notices issued in the second quarter of the year.

Two-thirds of notices in the capital (1,210) were issued on the grounds of intended sale.

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John-Mark McCafferty, chief executive of renters’ charity Threshold, said while the reduction in termination notices was welcome, it was “still very high”.

“The average is around 4,600 a month. So whether that’s to an individual or to a group of people who are in a home, it’s a lot of renters who are faced with that prospect of the possibility of losing their home,” he said.

Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Bróin said the latest RTB figures are an “urgent wake-up call”.

“That brings the total number of eviction notices issued this year to 15,006. In the absence of the Government providing an adequate supply of social and affordable homes, the high number of eviction notices is leading to increased homeless presentations and increased homelessness,” he said.

“The Government will also need to reconsider its opposition to a temporary reintroduction of the ban on no-fault evictions.”

There has been concern around the number of notices to quit served on tenants following the Government’s decision to end the moratorium on no-fault evictions earlier this year, a move that drew widespread criticism and predictions of rising homelessness.

The most recent figures from the Department of Housing, published last week, found there was a record number of children in homelessness, at 3,904. The September homeless report from the department found there was a total of 12,827 people residing in emergency accommodation.

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Government cited concerns around the number of landlords seeking to leave the rental market as part of their decision to end the ban on no-fault evictions.

Research from the RTB last year found a quarter of small landlords are likely or very likely to sell their rental properties in the next five years because they are not making enough money from rental income.

In a bid to stem the exodus, Budget 2024 included a tax break for landlords worth between €600 and €1,000, rising each year for the next four years.

In his budget speech, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said 86 per cent of landlords in the market own just one or two properties, which is why the government introduced a temporary tax relief, which will “primarily benefit small landlords”.