National housing charity Threshold prevented more than 1,100 households from entering homelessness since April, according to figures from its latest Impact Report.
Tenancy terminations remain the biggest challenge facing renters, accounting for 42% of queries received by the charity during the quarter.
The charity’s Q2 20261 Impact Report shows that Threshold advisors supported 9,198 households over the last quarter, including over 11,800 adults and more than 7,800 children.
Of the new households that contacted the charity since April, 2,182 were at risk of homelessness.
Threshold helped 1,145 households to stay in their home or find a new home, where possible.
Threshold says it continues to raise concerns about the Exempted Development Regulations for auxiliary dwellings, which are intended to increase housing supply allowing garden homes, within certain parameters, to be delivered without the need for planning permission.
While the charity recognises the need to increase housing supply, it is concerned that these proposals could create unintended consequences for renters by expanding a form of accommodation that may fall outside existing rental protections.
A key concern is that occupants of these ‘garden homes’ will be classified as licensees rather than tenants, meaning that they could be excluded from fundamental protections such as security of tenure, limits on rent increases and access to the Residential Tenancies Board for dispute resolution.
Threshold’s frontline experience shows that people living in licence arrangements can often face significant challenges, including sudden eviction, withheld deposits, disputes over bills and difficulties accessing essential services, and then have no access to recourse or mediation for these challenges.
Threshold is also concerned that the regulations do not provide sufficient safeguards to ensure minimum living standards.
While garden homes may comply with building regulations, it is not clear how minimum rental standards will be monitored and enforced. Furthermore, as outlined above, it is unclear whether renters living in licence arrangements will have access to mediation or similar mechanisms if their accommodation fails to meet minimum standards, making it more difficult to ensure the property is brought up to code.
Without clear oversight, there is a risk that exempted developments could create a two-tier housing system, where vulnerable groups are disproportionately accommodated in lower quality and less secure housing without recourse to protections.
Speaking on the Q2 2026 Impact Report,Threshold’s National Advocacy Manager, Ann-Marie O’Reillysaid: “While Threshold continues to see the significant pressures facing renters across Ireland, it is encouraging that people are reaching out for advice and support to understand their rights and address challenges in the private rental sector.
Our Q2 2026 Impact Report highlights the need to ensure that efforts to increase housing supply do not come at the expense of renter protections, housing standards or security. As new forms of accommodation, such as garden homes, become more common, it is essential that clear safeguards are put in place so that renters are not left without the protections they need.”
Threshold is calling on the Government to review the category of licensee to ensure that this group of renters are afforded some form of rights under the Residential Tenancies Acts, similar to those afforded to students residing in Student Specific Accommodation.
Case Study: Mairéad’s Story
When Mairéad moved into a cabin behind her landlord’s home, she thought she had found secure and affordable accommodation.
Instead, her experience highlighted the uncertainty faced by people living in licence arrangements, where protections can be limited.
After nine months living in the garden cabin, Mairéad’s landlord sought to increase the rent and change the terms of the arrangement.
To secure more affordable accommodation, she moved into a room within the main house. This seemingly simple move changed her rights and entitlements.
“By the time she contacted us [when her licensor asked her to leave the room in their home], she appeared to be a licensee rather than a tenant,” says Ciara Kealy*, Mairéad’s Threshold Advisor.
“That meant she wasn’t protected under the Residential Tenancies Act and had very limited options when she was asked to leave.”
Ciara supported Mairéad in exploring her options, including negotiating additional time to move out and seeking emergency accommodation support.
However, due to her status as a licensee, she had limited legal protections.
Mairéad also faced difficulties recovering her deposit, as cash payments and a lack of documentation made it difficult to challenge the licensor’s claims.
For Ciara, Mairéad’s experience highlights the wider concerns around licence arrangements and the need for clearer protections.
“There should be some baseline protections,” Ciara says.
“There has to be a framework that protects both sides, licensor and licensee. At the moment, people can do everything right and still find themselves in a very precarious situation.”
As more people turn to rooms, cabins and garden homes in response to the housing crisis, cases like Mairéad’s raise important questions about whether current rules provide enough certainty for those who call these spaces home.
For Mairéad, the result was losing her home and her deposit. Her experience illustrates the precarious situation that licensees live in as they are afforded no rights, and the real life impact the new legislation will have in excluding renters living in exempted developments from the protection of the Residential Tenancies Acts.
Threshold’s helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm at 1800 454 454, or online at www.threshold.ie/get-help for any private renter in need of advice or support.
- Email an advisor: www.threshold.ie/email-an-advisor
- Book time to speak with an advisor at an Outreach Clinic: www.threshold.ie/book-a-time-to-speak-with-an-advisor