'They've done a complete U-turn': Property owners criticise plans to overhaul rental rules

The Chairperson of the Irish Property Owners Association has expressed concerns over radical proposals to extend Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) to cover every tenancy across the country.

It's understood that under the plan, which will come before Cabinet this Tuesday, large landlords (who own at least four properties) will be prohibited from implementing no-fault evictions.

While details of the proposal have yet to be confirmed, it's understood RPZs will be retained for existing tenancies, with rents linked to inflation or capped at 2% - whichever is lower.

However, there will be no cap for new builds and landlords will only be able to 'reset' rents if their tenant leaves the property voluntarily.

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Mary Conway, Chairperson of the Irish Property Owners Association, says she can't understand the rationale behind the proposal.

"We're pitching Dublin versus the rest of the country, because we're now going to have institutional landlords in Dublin because they're not going to move down to Kerry or to Cork, well, maybe Cork, but Sligo, where I'm from, or Leitrim, and build units there. So I don't know what way the government is thinking," she told Newstalk Breakfast.

"They (Government) have all the experts giving them the information and they've done a complete U-turn. So we're all at a loss this morning to know where their advice is coming from. This isn't what we expected," she added.

Ms Conway, who works as a real estate agent, says rental controls don't work and that the proposed changes will drive smaller landlords out of the market.

"I think there's a lot of landlords waking up around the country this morning and they're saying, really, is it worth the hassle anymore? I bought a property and I have absolutely no control over it."

Ms Conway has accused the Government of ignoring families and targeting people at the upper end of the market that are coming into work for a period of time and then moving on.

"We need social housing to be built in much larger numbers than it is so that private landlords are not doing the job of Government," she said.