Over 4,000 renters issued with notices to quit in last three months of 2022

A further 4,329 notices to quit were issued to renters by landlords in the final three months of last year, new figures by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) show.

The data published on Monday comes as pressure continues to mount on the Government for its decision to lift the eviction ban despite a warning that it will increase homelessness.

The notices to quit cover the months October, November and December in 2022.

The eviction ban came into place in November and ended on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

Over half of notices to quit, 2,514 — were issued to renters whose landlord said they intended on selling the property, according to the RTB.

Sinn Fein’s housing spokesman Eoin O’Broin has said 3,778 of these notices to quit will fall from April through to June.

“Added to the thousands of notices already issued it is clear that our housing and homeless system won't be able to cope. Where will these people go?” he tweeted.

The Government has faced intense scrutiny for its decision to end the eviction ban and has argued if it remained in place, it would only create more problems in the future.

The Coalition has announced that a number of measures will come into place to help people facing homelessness.

Finance Minister Michael McGrath said legislation to legally require a landlord to offer a property for purchase to the tenant first will “take a number of weeks” to complete.

The Government has faced criticism for not having mitigating measures in place prior to the lifting of the ban.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr McGrath said he would not give a specific date as to when the measure would be in place but added that the Attorney General and parliamentary legal counsel are “actively” working on the legislation with the Department of Housing.

He told RTÉ's This Week programme that there would be a “meaningful package of measures” brought forward to ensure landlords remain in the rental sector.

He said he was already actively engaging with officials in his department and that preliminary discussions had taken place with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to a “taxation element” in the next budget to encourage landlords to stay in the rental market.

Mr McGrath said he could “give a commitment that there will be measures there to underpin the long-term sustainability of the rental sector and to improve the attractiveness of it for people to invest in and those who have already invested, to remain in it because we do need a stable supply of rental accommodation into the future”.