More evidence of a massive landlord exodus due to the new rules

[Greenbook]

Ray Cooke here confirming the exodus of landlords and that it is accelerating post the new rules. He says all the other management companies are experiencing the same thing. They are all in contact with each other.

He has a large letting and managment business. There is no benefit to his business in claiming that there is an exodus when there isn't.

The two estate agents I know say the same thing. One is very small and mainly management. He says he's glad he's in his 50s, on the way to retirement and that he put money into his pension over the years. His business will be gone within the next 3 to 5 years maximum. His landlords are selling as tenants vacate. They are not being replaced.

The other guy has a large business, is younger and more bullish. He deals with the larger city centre landlords. He is expecting consolidation among agents who do managment as some of the smaller business decline and cease to be viable as standalone operators. He would be interested in taking over some of the better ones.

That's the future, large major city centre landlords with very professional agents and not much else outside that.

 

[stormy]

On 1st May last year, there was just over 2,300 properties listed to rent on Daft. Source.
As of today (so comparable time frame to last year), there are 2,351 properties listed to rent on Daft
So across the country, listings are +1-2% on the comparable period from last year. Basically listings unchanged nationally year on year.

 

[stormy]

The €255mm he references seems to come from this Cushman & Wakefield report

Looking at this a bit more now.

The €244mm (I mis-typed €255mm earlier) PRS total is essentially two deals: GIC's €212mm purchase of Newmarket Yards from Bain Capital, and IRES's €32mm acquisition of a residential scheme in Naas.

Newmarket Yards is capital rotation — Bain out, GIC in — with no sign Bain is redeploying into Irish PRS (I couldn't find anything of their plans online)

So none of the €244m is genuinely new capital funding new rental supply.

 

[KOW]

Q2 is showing an increase in the areas I mentioned.

 

[bish123]

Managed rental properties by companies is a norm in central Europe. Ireland is catching up to this trend. Cherry picking some examples of good or bad landlords on either side doesn't take away the facts.

 

[Premos]

Managed rental properties by companies is a norm in central Europe. Ireland is catching up to this trend.

Apart from Austria and Germany, the countries that are generally referred to, are there many others that follow that models and have followed it long term? Private rentals still exist in both of these (apparently 65 per cent on Germany).

 

[Greenbook]

Managed rental properties by companies is a norm in central Europe. Ireland is catching up to this trend.

Nothing wrong with the Funds at all. They provide modern well managed properties at scale in urban locations. That has to be beneficial.

It will be a problem if all you have is Funds. They confine themselves to large urban areas and target a particular type of tenant (mobile, professional). Where does everybody else go?

Also, smaller landlords compete with them to some extent. We provide cheaper if usually lower quality rentals. That is exactly what a lot of people are happy with.

As I said, nothing at all wrong with Funds, but they are the only ones who can cope with the complexities and rigidity of the current rules. Likewise their model reduces the risk of non-paying tenants and because of their scale cope with a handful of squatters. So, if the supposed in flow of landlords into the PRS happens at all, it will be Funds and very large landlords.

Even they mightn't be tempted. We could have more sudden regulatory shifts next year.

 

[Greenbook]

Article from Galway here again showing increasing exits by landlords from PRS.

 

[Greenbook]

I can't see the actual Director's Report itself on the RTB website, but per RTE and the Journal, evictions were up 50% in Q1 2026, the highest level on record, I think. As per usual it's driven by landlord sales.

Tenancy numbers up a bit as well, but I bet that is cost rentals and previously unregistered landlords.

With inflation predicted to reach 7% by the end of the year (see headline in the Irish Times today), any sane landlord is voting with his feet.

The eviction numbers doesn't, of course, cover landlords who are selling after their tenants left voluntarily.

The RTE article is here

 

[Bronte]

Article from Galway here again showing increasing exits by landlords from PRS.

This bit from the article:

“The new rent legislation is not in force long enough yet to ascertain its impact, but we have seen some rents increase where tenants have left voluntarily and the landlords have increased rents to prevailing market rates,” the Council added.

I can confirm that I know this to be the case, told so directly.

 

[Banquo]

With inflation predicted to reach 7% by the end of the year (see headline in the Irish Times today), any sane landlord is voting with his feet.

It does not say this. That is only 1 extreme scenario modelled in the analysis.

AIB's main thesis is that inflation will average 4%.

 

[Greenbook]

It does not say this. That is only 1 extreme scenario modelled in the analysis.

I only glanced through the article to be honest.

4% is still twice the 2% cap though.

 

[stormy]

AIB's main thesis is that inflation will average 4%

Worrying signs out of the US.

PPI over there ( good predictor of their CPI) was nearly triple the expected level for April. Up 6% yoy.

"producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% for the month, much higher than the 0.5% Dow Jones consensus forecast"

Wholesale inflation jumps 6% in April on annual basis, biggest increase since 2022

The producer price index was expected to increase 0.5% in April, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

www.cnbc.com

Time will tell when more data comes out for Ireland, but the signs are for another serious bout of inflation.

 

[Greenbook]

Article here from the Tuam Herald on the crisis in that part of the country due to the continuing exit of small landlords.

The author, an estate agent, makes a very good point

The paradox is striking; the exact measures introduced to protect tenants have directly contributed to the disappearance of the accommodation those tenants depended upon.

 

[Dave Byrne]

Very tax focused article. Does anyone capture the ‘why’ landlords are selling up in their data? Tax hasn’t changed so it’s probably not that.