Sections 7 & 12 of Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022

Section 7 - Rent Regulation in the Private Sector in Northern Ireland

From the 1 April 2025 a landlord cannot increase rent within 12 months of granting a tenancy or within the 12 months following the date of the last rent increase. Landlords must also give tenants a 3-month written notice of the rent increase. This written notice can take the form of emails, texts and other electronic communications.

If a landlord attempts to increase the rent more than once in any 12-month period, a tenant is under no obligation to pay this second rent increase. The landlord’s action has no legal effect and the rent remains unchanged. A landlord cannot enforce the increase in court, nor harass the tenant, or they will be liable in the same way as if they tried to harass the tenant for any other money that is not due to the landlord.

A landlord cannot evict a tenant without following due process in law. This includes the tenant being served with the correct notice to quit. It may also require the landlord to apply to the Court to commence ejectment proceedings. For information on illegal eviction, please follow the link here.

Research on impact of rent freeze/cut

The Department commissioned the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) to carry out independent research on the impact of rent cuts/freezes to support its responsibilities under Section 7 of The Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Act 2022. The Department fulfilled their duty to lay the report and publish it in line with deadline as set out in the Act.

The research report from the Chartered Institute of Housing for the Department for Communities shows:

• what existing evidence tells us about rent regulation;
• a baseline of current rent affordability and trends;
• the potential impact of rent control/regulation in Northern Ireland, and
• the consultation feedback from landlords and tenants, their representative groups and district councils.

The report concluded that the best ways of relieving pressure on affordability for renters was by increasing housing supply and ensuring the benefit system properly took into account the cost of housing.

The Act contained a sunset clause which detailed that power to make regulations to freeze or cut rents would expire 12 months after the date the report was laid. This deadline passed on 28 October 2023.

Section 12 – Payment Options for Tenants

Section 12 of the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 contains a power for the Department to make regulations requiring landlords to offer tenants a choice of payment methods for rent and other payments relating to their tenancy.

In order to comply with the legislative requirement, the Department carried out a consultation with the specified groups including district councils, such persons as appear to be representative of landlord and representative of tenants, and other persons as it considered appropriate (including landlords and tenants).

The Summary Report relating to Section 12 provides a summary of consultation responses. The conclusion of this survey indicates that paying in cash is a very limited practice and that the majority of tenants were happy with their current method of payment. Therefore, the Department made the decision not to commence the regulations in Section 12 of the Act.