Eviction figures hit record high with over 7,000 termination notices in three months

Eva Osborne

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) received over 7,000 termination notices in the first quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly figure since the data series began.

New figures from the RTB showed that 7,062 notices of termination were received in Q1 2026, up 51 per cent from Q1 2025.

1,998 (28 per cent) were received in January, 3,138 (44 per cent) were received in February, and 1,926 (27 per cent) were received in March.

4,259, or 60 per cent, of the notices of termination in Q1 2026 were issued as the landlord intended to sell the property, the RTB said.

RTB director, Rosemary Steen, said the board remains "attentive" to pressure reflected in the eviction figures, but said there are "indications that termination notices are now on a downward trend following a notable peak in February".

The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) said the latest data from the RTB demonstrates the damaging impact of the Government’s recent Rental Tenancies Bill on the private rental sector.

Chair of the IPOA, Mary Conway, said: “Today’s RTB figures clearly show the destabilising effect the Government’s recent Residential Tenancies Bill is having on the private rental market.

"IPOA repeatedly warned that these changes would create further uncertainty for landlords and accelerate their exit from the sector.

“The fact that more than 7,000 notices of termination were issued in a single quarter - the highest level on record - should be a wake-up call for the Government.

"The continued trend of landlords leaving the market to sell their properties is deeply concerning and further reduces rental supply at a time when demand is already at unprecedented levels.”

The RTB's quarterly update on the Irish rental market also showed that registered private tenancies and landlord numbers increased year-on-year to the highest level since the Profile of the Register data series began.

Registered private and cost rental tenancies increased by 2.4 per cent year-on-year to 246,477 in Q1 2026, the highest level since the data series began.

Of these, 5,226 were cost rental tenancies, which increased by 87 per cent year-on-year.

The number of private landlords rose by 1.3 per cent annually to 105,847, indicating increased participation in the rental market, the RTB said.