State’s largest private landlord estimates its rents are 20% below market value
Ires Reit, the State’s largest private landlord, has estimated that the rents it charges on its portfolio of apartments are about a fifth below market value, but that recent reforms of the rules governing tenancies will allow it to “unlock significant” value.The new rent rules, which came into force on March 1st, allow landlords to reset rent prices to market rates between one tenancy and another when the property is vacated.Ireland’s existing system of rent pressure zones was also overhauled as part of the Government reforms, which are aimed, in part, at reviving moribund investor interest in the Republic’s apartment market. “For the business, the reforms unlock significant embedded value within the existing portfolio, which is currently estimated to be approximately 20 per cent under rented relative to market rents,” said Ires chief executive Eddie Byrne in the Dublin-listed group’s annual report, published on Thursday. READ MOREHow PTSB came back from a near-death experience to challenge AIB and Bank of IrelandHaving a baby: can you and your employer afford it?No sign Irish holidaymakers will have summer holidays cancelled, but prices could surge Politicians fail to turn up for Central Bank warning about Government spending“Over time, the ability to release this reversion will support earnings growth and enhance asset valuations, assuming stable market yields.”Byrne also said the new measures represented a “structural turning point” for the sector in Ireland, although “it will take time” for the changes to “translate into increased housing supply”. Has the fuel protest shown that the loudest lobby generally gets what they want?In February, Byrne said the majority of Ires’s tenants would be unaffected in the short-term. “We only expect 10 per cent of our portfolio to turn over on an annual basis, so it’s only that 10 per cent that will reset back to market [rates],” he said. Meanwhile, Byrne’s total pay – including bonuses and pension contributions – increased by 61 per cent last year to almost €1.2 million. However, the 2024 figure only covers the period from his appointment in May to the end of that year.[ How to invest in property: Here’s what you need to knowOpens in new window ]The former Anglo Irish Bank and Lone Star executive received a basic salary of €475,000 in 2025. He was also awarded an annual bonus, based on certain financial metrics, of €529,000. The remuneration committee also agreed to increase Byrne’s base salary by 3 per cent to €489,250 in 2026, which it said was in line with the average increase for the workforce. In its preliminary full-year results, Ires said in February that it reversed a €6.7 million loss in 2024 to deliver pretax profits of €49.7 million last year, primarily related to a €17 million gain in the fair value of its investment properties. Revenues were 0.2 per cent higher at €85.5 million for the 12 months, the company reiterated in Thursday’s annual report. Its average monthly rent in 2025 rose 2.1 per cent last year to €1,852, lifted by a combination of asset recycling, its retrofit programme and focused management of renewals.Ires has sold off some of its lower-value properties and embarked on a programme to retrofit suitable low-energy-rated properties when they became vacant.
