Housing charity says it has prevented almost 1,000 households from becoming homeless since April

Of the new households that contacted Threshold since April, 1,595 were at risk of homelessness, and the charity helped the occupants of 951 households to stay in their home or find a new home, where possible.

The housing charity Threshold says it has prevented almost 1,000 households from becoming homeless since April alone.

And it says tenancy termination remains the biggest issue facing renters, accounting for just over a third of all the queries it has dealt with in the second quarter of this year.

The details are contained in its impact report for the period April to June of this year, published on Thursday.

It shows Threshold advisers have supported more than 8,500 households, including over 11,400 adults, and more than 7,000 children.

Of the new households that contacted the charity since April, 1,595 were at risk of homelessness, and the charity helped the occupants of 951 households to stay in their home or find a new home, where possible.

Tenancy termination accounted for 35% of all queries, with other queries including advice on leases, accessing social housing, and general rent queries.

Single-occupant households accounted for 40% of households helped, with one-parent families accounting for 20% of the cases.

Threshold’s national advocacy manager Ann-Marie O’Reilly said while the charity was still concerned about the strains on renters, she was encouraged to see people contacting them for support and guidance around their rights as private-sector renters.

“Our Q2 impact report highlights the need for continued work and advocacy to support private renters across Ireland, even with the updated rent pressure zone [RPZ] legislation, which extends the RPZ rent controls across the nation,” she said.

Since June 20, 2025, all counties have been classified as an RPZ, meaning all tenancies benefit from the cap on rent increases — rent cannot be raised by more than 2%, or the rate of inflation if lower, every 12 months.

Any rent increase must be issued through an official rent review, with a formal notice provided to tenants at least 90 days in advance.

In the areas newly designated as RPZs, landlords must wait 24 months from the date of the last rent review before issuing another.

This must also be delivered as a formal physical document, as informal methods such as text messages or phone calls do not meet the legal requirements.

Ms O’Reilly said the national extension of the RPZ was welcome, and provided crucial protection to an additional 41,000 households.

“We now want to ensure that all renters know that they are protected by the 2% rent increase cap and encourage renters to get in touch if they have any questions, worries, or concerns,” she said.

“We support the revised National Development Plan, given the importance of delivering housing and infrastructure to support housing development.

“We will continue to engage with the Government and other stakeholders in the coming months on further proposed changes to seek the best outcome for the rental sector as a whole.” 

Threshold’s service is available by phone, Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm at 1800 454 454, or online at threshold.ie/get-help.