A QUARTER OF small landlords say they are likely to sell their rental properties in the next five years, an Oireachtas Committee will hear today. 

The Joint Committee on Housing will meet at 3pm to discuss recent trends in the private rental sector with representatives from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). 

The RTB provides information to tenants, landlords and the general public on their rights and obligations, in terms of both living and providing accommodation in the rental sector. 

RTB chairperson Tom Dunne is to provide the Committee with preliminary results, not yet published, from the Board’s 2022 rental sector survey. 

The results show that most small landlords (94%) are part-time landlords and do not manage properties as their primary occupation, the Committee will year. 

90% of property owners are reporting a positive experience with their tenants, according to the survey. 

The Committee will also hear that a quarter of small landlords surveyed stated that they are either likely or very likely to sell their rental properties in the next five years, with just over half saying they are unlikely to sell. 

Property owners, tenants and agents find the regulatory framework and changing legislation difficult to navigate and understand, Dunne will say. 

It will also outline that there is a lack of awareness among tenants of some key protections and that it was reported that the RTB disputes process took too long to reach a final outcome. 

Dunne will tell the Committee that complex legislation and rules can give rise to confusion or to a risk of inadvertant non-compliance. He will say that having a clear and streamlined legislative framework in place would make it easier for property owners and tenants to understand and comply with their responsibilities, which would have a positive impact on the sector overall. 

The Committee will hear that the RTB will engage further with the Department of Housing next year on the case for reform on the Residential Tenancies Act.