Housing

Investors in rental property must accept regulation, says Iris Reit boss

Chief executive Margaret Sweeney urges big landlords to rethink their approach and move away from expecting short-term financial windfalls

Margaret Sweeney, chief executive of I-Res Reit: ‘The challenge, I think, for the sector is: do we have to move to actually accepting it’s regulated’. Picture: Fergal Phillips.

The head of Iris Reit, Ireland’s biggest landlord, has said rent caps “did actually work” and investors in the rental sector need to start “actually accepting it’s regulated”.

The remarks from Margaret Sweeney, the outgoing chief executive of Ires Reit, represent a significant divergence from traditional commentary from large landlords in Ireland, who have lobbied extensively against regulation and rent caps.

Ires controls more than 3,700 units in Ireland. Last year, revenues at the company ...