Margaret McCormick from the Irish Property Owners Association is calling on the Government to lift the eviction moratorium.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Ms McCormick said landlords have no control over their properties, where she said some tenants are in significant rent arrears and have been engaging in anti-social behaviour.
She also said some frontline workers, who came back to Ireland to help in the Covid-19 emergency, have been unable to get their properties back.
Over 300,000 renters are currently protected from eviction or rent increases under emergency Covid-19 housing legislation which was introduced on 27 March.
These tenancy protections are due to end on 20 July.
Ms McCormick said the State has an obligation to assist people who do not have sufficient income to pay rent, but she said a property owner does not have the same obligation.
She said rent pressure zones were introduced three years ago as an emergency measure, which she said has left some homeowners receiving below market value in rent, while interest continues to accrue on their mortgage, even when they have availed of a "mortgage holiday" from their bank.
On the same programme, John Mark McCafferty, CEO of Threshold, said while he has sympathy with a number of landlords who are facing challenges, the vast majority of private renters are worried about reductions in their income.
He said many of those who are renting work in sectors which have been hardest hit by Covid-19, namely hospitality, retail and administration, and many have suffered job losses, a reduction in hours and income.
Mr McCafferty said rent increases "for the foreseeable future would be wholly inappropriate", and he called for wider promotion of the rent supplement scheme.
He said an extension on the moratorium "could be nuanced" and "monitored regularly."
