Tenants who inherited rent-controlled dwellings from a family-member will face the full rigours of the commercial rented sector in a year's time.

These are people who enjoyed the protection of the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, which was passed in 1982 to replace rent-control legislation which was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The 1982 Act protected those living in rent-controlled premises at the time the Act was introduced, and extended this protection to their spouses and to family-members living with them, for a 20-year period.

That expires next year for the family-members, though not for the original tenants. Most of the latter are very elderly, and would not be expected to continue to occupy the premises for many more years because of their age and infirmity.

For property-owners, this opens up the possibility of being able to dispose of, or develop, property which had previously been unprofitable. Such properties are frequently in bad repair, as the rents do not cover the cost of keeping them in good condition.

For tenants, however, especially if they are advanced in years, the end of the protection will bring great worry and insecurity.

Lawyers around the country are already being contacted both by property-owners who are hoping to end a low-rent regime in their properties, and by tenants who fear eviction as the end of rent-protection comes into sight - with no sign of any new legislation to protect them.

The Government has promised reform of the private rented sector, but there are no specific proposals to deal with the situation that will arise next year.

Under the Act, a person who was a tenant of a rent-controlled dwelling (usually an unfurnished flat in an older building) had the right to remain in it for his or her life-time. This right also extended to their spouse.

A relative of such a tenant, if a bona fide resident in the property for at least six years, could succeed to the tenancy - but his or her rights were more restricted. They were only allowed to retain the tenancy for 20 years from the introduction of the Act, though there was a minimum tenancy period of five years which could extend the end of the tenancy a few years beyond that date.

A family-member is broadly defined in the Act, and includes children, step-parents, step-children, adopted persons, "illegitimate" offspring and any person in residence with the tenant for not less than six years, and to whom the tenant was in loco parentis.

However, this means that relatives of tenants in rent-controlled property in 1982 who inherited the tenancy more than four years ago will find themselves in difficulty from next July.

They will have the protection of the general landlord and tenant law, which will mean they will have the right to a new 35-year lease, but at market rents. Some may not be able to afford them.

There are fears among lawyers specialising in landlord and tenant law that hundreds of people will be thrown out on the streets when the protection of the 1982 Act comes to an end. However, these fears may be exaggerated.

Tenants in rent-controlled property are registered with the local authorities, and therefore come under their general responsibility.

Earlier this year the Department of the Environment asked the local authorities to undertake a survey of tenants in the formerly rent-controlled sector. This found a total of 8,489 properties in the authorities' registers.

However, when these were contacted, it was found that only 1,500 of them remained within the sector, the majority occupied by original tenants, who have security of tenure for their lifetime.

The Minister of State, Mr Bobby Molloy, told the Dail last month, in a reply to a written parliamentary question, that the results of the survey suggested that less that 600 successor tenants would be affected by the legislative changes due to come into effect next July.

"My Department is examining the issue in the light of the survey data in order to determine what action may be warranted," he said.

"There will be hardship cases," said Ms Marie Baker, a barrister specialising in landlord and tenant law.

"No new legislation has been passed. Another way to deal with it would be for the State to fund the hardship cases."

A spokesman for the Department of the Environment pointed out that there are already a number of schemes where the State helps fund the accommodation needs of people on low incomes.