The last of Ireland's accidental landlords? How the rental market is changing hands

Buy-to-let lending has collapsed while larger landlords provide an increasing share of private tenancies, reshaping Ireland’s rental market

The number of buy-to-let mortgages has fallen by around 70% since 2012.

For decades, Ireland's private rental market has been populated by a particular kind of landlord: the person with one or two properties rather than a professional property company with hundreds of homes.

Some inherited a house or apartment and decided to rent it rather than sell it. Some bought a home, moved up the housing ladder and kept their first property, turning it into a rental.