Multiple areas across Galway county are designated as rent pressure zones as of today.
In total 19 new rent pressure zones have been created in 11 counties including Athenry/Oranmore and Gort/Kinvara, which came into effect today.
Within a rent pressure zone landlords are capped at being able to raise rents by a maximum of 4% per year for new and existing tenancies.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy designated the new Rent Pressure Zones after the Residential Tenancies Board conformed that they met the eligibility criteria.
RTB Director Rosalind Carroll added;“It is really important that landlords and tenants go to www.rtb.ie where they can check if their rental home is in a Rent Pressure Zone and what rent can be charged.”
This changes comes as the RTB released it Quarterly Rent Index Report for the first three months of 2019.
The average standardised rent in Galway city was €1,093 in the first three months of this year, while the national average was €1,169.
While growth remains high in Dublin with the standardised average rent of €1,662 per month, an increase of 8.5% (€70) on the previous year, rental inflation has been highest in areas outside the Greater Dublin Area with an increase of 9.6% year on year.
The biggest gap in what people are paying is between new and renewed tenancies, with people moving into a new tenancy paying an average of €1,245 per month compared to €984 for renewed tenancies.
Waterford City had the fastest growth rate of anywhere in the country with a growth rate of 13.7% annually for an average rent of €826 for Q1 2019.
While rent in Cork city was significantly higher at €1,158 per month, however Cork experienced the slowest growth slowest out of the cities at 7.1%.
“It is clear that rising rents continue to put pressure on the market. There are a number of complex reasons behind this that policy makers will need to continue to monitor and consider,” Rosalind Carroll said.
She added that the role of the RTB is to advise policy makers, and while they cannot control rents themselves “we have increasing powers that assist us in ensuring that the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords are respected.”
“This week the RTB have been given new powers by the Minister and have opened the investigations and sanctions unit and any one that wants to contact us can call or read further information and guidance on our website”.
The new legislation gives the RTB the power to investigate breaches in relation to rent pressure zones, false and misleading notices of termination or where properties have not been offered back to the tenant in accordance with the law, and non-registration of a tenancy.
