- Seven out of ten SCSI estate agents anticipate an increase in small landlords leaving the market in spite of the introduction of rent reforms in June
- The SCSI is calling for lower tax rates for small landlords as well as taxes on long-term vacant residential units to boost long-term rental supply
- In its pre-Budget submission, the SCSI says that if housing supply is to be increased, the country must maximise use of existing infrastructure and make delivery of additional infrastructure a top priority
- It’s calling for targeted supports to unlock brownfield sites for high-density development with set targets for local authorities
- In addition, the SCSI is calling for the establishment of a national database for vacant and derelict buildings as well as the adoption of a clustered rural housing model
Sunday 14th September 2025: Estate agents who are members of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) believe that changes introduced to the rental market in June of this year will lead to an increase in the number of small landlords leaving the market.
In a survey 71%* of members said they believed more landlords will leave the market following the introduction of the changes, which included the extension of Rent Pressure Zones across the country.
In the survey agents said 29% of current residential sales are from landlords looking to sell their investment, down from 40% in 12 months.
The President of the SCSI, Gerard O’Toole said that while the changes have some positive elements, such as added security of tenure for tenants, most agents don’t believe they addressed the main concerns of landlords.
“Our survey shows that the three top reasons why rental units are coming to the market for sale are overly complex rent legislation, low returns and properties recovering from negative equity. While agents say sales instructions from landlords are down to 29% from a high of 40% a year ago, the figure has remained around the 30% mark for many years.”
“We believe landlords will continue to leave the market, exacerbating the lack of rental supply, unless they can see better returns and that is why we are calling for increased tax incentives for small landlords.”
“But we also believe the rental market needs increased auditing by the RTB to ensure regulatory compliance and address unauthorised short-term lettings. The SCSI previously called for the establishment of a dedicated department or ‘rental court’ focused exclusively on managing dispute resolution and adjudication. We believe such measures along with taxes on long-term vacant residential units would help address the chronic shortage of rental properties.”
Infrastructure & Housing
In its pre-budget submission, the SCSI proposes a range of measures aimed at unlocking housing supply and addressing blockages across the construction, property and land sectors.
Mr O’Toole said that the housing crisis continued to be the biggest challenge facing the country and that unless it was tackled head on, the wider societal consequences would only deepen further.
“In order to unlock housing supply, we need to accelerate infrastructure delivery, improve planning timelines and diversify funding. If we just look at the infrastructure element, it’s clear our population is expanding but that our infrastructure has not kept pace with that expansion. We are already seeing how the lack of adequate water, power and transport connections are blocking housing developments.”
“But delivering infrastructure takes time so it’s critical that if housing supply is to be increased that we maximise the use of existing infrastructure while making delivery of additional infrastructure a top priority.”
In its submission the SCSI calls on the Government to introduce targeted supports to help unlock previously developed land, known as brownfield sites, as an effective way of increasing housing supply.
The SCSI says the measures could include compact growth targets for local authorities and require them to report regularly on planning approvals and completions.
In a related move, the SCSI is also calling for the establishment of a national database for vacant and derelict buildings and for the adoption of clustered rural housing as opposed to ribbon development.
Mr O’Toole says these measures are aimed at maximising the use of any land and buildings which are already connected to power, water and transport networks.
“We believe introducing supports to unlock brownfield sites and setting targets for local authorities will help promote high-density development in existing built-up areas, ensuring timely housing delivery and better urban planning. In a similar way establishing a data base of vacant/derelict buildings will facilitate the unlocking of unused housing stock and enable the authorities to monitor and measure the effectiveness of grant supports.”
“The SCSI continues to advocate for mixed-tenure developments under Croi Conaithe and encourages the adoption of clustered rural housing instead of ribbon developments. Sustainable policies such as these support supply diversity and better align with local and rural housing needs” Mr O’Toole concluded.
The full budget submission including the SCSI’s proposals across a range of issues including funding diversification, investment in training to address critical skills shortages and accelerating the retrofit programme is available at the link below.
For media queries please call the SCSI at (01) 6445500 and ask for Patrick King.