Home » Uncategorised »
Rent Controls to be Introduced in Ireland This Month
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Rent Controls to be Introduced in Ireland This Month
Ireland is set to introduce rent controls this month, with the measure due to be agreed by the Irish cabinet tomorrow.
Under the new rules, landlords will only be allowed to increase rent prices every two years. The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, says that the new laws will be rushed through to stop landlords pushing up rents on vulnerable tenants.
The Environment Minister, Alan Kelly, confirms that the measure will be implemented quickly, “certainly”1 this month.
It is alleged that some landlords are increasing rent prices now before they are stopped by the new regulations. However, Noonan insists that other laws protect renters.
He says: “Alan Kelly will be able to do these things under law… He will be able to make legal arrangements to prevent [that practice] happening.”2
The Private Residential Tenancies Board clarifies that rents cannot be increased within 12 months of a tenancy starting or within 12 months of the last rise.
It also says that it is illegal for landlords to ask for more than the market rent, which is the figure that a tenant would be willing to pay on a similar property in the same area.
The new rent controls are part of a set of measures designed to boost the supply of homes, as a severe lack of housing is becoming a serious issue.
Rent prices in Dublin have been rising by 10% per year and are almost back to the levels recorded at the peak of Ireland’s property boom a decade ago, which came before a huge bust.
1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/ireland-to-introduce-rent-controls-this-month/
