The number of large corporate landlords in Dublin has grown and now accounts for the greatest percentage - more than a quarter - of all private tenancies in the capital.
Landlords with 100 tenancies or more in Dublin accounted for 26 per cent of all private tenancies registered at the end of the fourth quarter of last year, up from 22 per cent in the same period on 2023.
In comparison, landlords with just one tenancy account for 23 per cent of the market, with landlords with between 2 and 99 tenancies making up the remainder.
The data was published on Wednesday by the Residential Tenancies Board in its quarterly update.
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While they are not mentioned by name in the RTB report, the larger and mainly corporate or institutional landlords would include Ires Reit, Kennedy Wilson and Ardstone Capital.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has recently spoken about the need to incentivise this kind of private investment in the Irish housing market in order to deliver more homes.
However, there has been criticism of this strategy from Opposition parties, who say private investment building results in high-end, unaffordable rental properties that would only deepen the housing crisis.
The RTB rent index, also published on Wednesday in conjunction with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), found average rents across the country increased by 6.4 per cent in new tenancies to €1,693, and by 4.7 per cent for existing tenancies to €1,429.
In Dublin, the average rent in existing tenancies is now €1,870. For new tenancies, it is €2,226.
Limerick city recorded the largest increase in rents over the last year, where rents increased by 12 per cent.
The number of private tenancies across the country has risen annually to 240,964 at the end of last year, while private landlord numbers rose by 4.5 per cent to 105,594. Approved Housing Body tenancies also grew by 14.5 per cent to over 50,500.
The data also shows fewer landlords are ending tenancies, with 3,706 notices of termination received in the fourth quarter of last year, a 7.5 per cent decrease on the same period in 2023.
The percentage of landlords who were ending tenancies in order to sell has also fallen by over 5 per cent, indicating a slowing down in the number of landlords exiting the market.
The RTB report also gave an update on its Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) enforcement campaign, as reported by The Irish Times earlier this month.
In October 2024, the RTB began a compliance campaign targeting landlords associated with more than 16,000 “tenancies of concern”, where landlords were found to have increased rents above the 2 per cent threshold allowed in RPZs.
Some 300 of these landlords have updated their tenancy record, with affected tenants saving on average €97 a month.
A further sample of 170 cases were escalated for investigation and some €35,000 in overpaid rent has been returned to tenants as a result.
The second phase of this compliance drive will see landlords who have not engaged in the process so far being sent forward for investigation and some 1,000 spot checks will be carried out.
This compliance drive comes amid uncertainty around the future of RPZs, with a review of the system currently being carried out by the Housing Agency.
One of the alternative options being considered is a “reference rent” system which would see increases determined by comparing rents with those charged for local homes of a similar quality, rather than the 2 per cent cap currently in place under the RPZ system.
Rosemary Steen, director of the RTB, said “we can see the RPZs are performing well, particularly in Dublin”, but that it was a “matter for the Government” to determine what kind of rent controls are in place.
Ms Steen said a reference rents system would require the RTB to gather more data and there were “concerns” around how fast this could be implemented.
“Any changes would require changes in how we are resourced,” she said.
