MINISTER FOR HOUSING James Browne has defended the government’s controversial rental reforms after new figures showed rents rising at their fastest pace in 25 years.

Speaking at the sod-turning of a new housing development in Tallaght, Browne insisted that “the plan is working” despite sharp criticism from opposition parties about soaring costs for tenants.

A report published today by Daft.ie showed that the average rent prices rose by 4.4% between December and March, the same rate as over the whole of 2025.

The figures cover the first quarter of 2026 and include the introduction of the government’s new “market rent reset” in March.

The change allows landlords to raise rents to market rates when tenants move out, ending tighter restrictions that had capped annual increases under Rent Pressure Zone rules.

Browne said the government had introduced the changes to prevent rental supply from collapsing further.

“What we’ve also seen is an increase in the number of landlords; we’ve seen an increase in the number of tenancies,” he said. “We had to drive that supply.”

He acknowledged that renters are facing difficulties in the short term, but argued that the reforms are necessary to tackle the wider housing crisis.

“If we didn’t make changes, we weren’t going to get supply at all.”

Browne said the government was already seeing signs of improvement across the housing sector, including increases in housing commencements, planning permissions and first time buyer mortgage drawdowns.

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“So, the plan is working.”

“You cannot solve the housing crisis, you cannot solve the homeless crisis, you cannot solve the renting crisis without more properties”.

The Daft report found the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom nationally stands at €2,176, while rents in Dublin city centre average €2,828 a month.

With reporting by Andrew Walsh.