Rents in both of these areas can now only be increased by a maximum of 4% annually.
Drogheda and Greystones have become the 20th and 21st designated ‘rent pressure zones’ in Ireland following the findings in the Rent Index Report of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for the second quarter of 2017.
The Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, T.D., made a statement about both local electoral areas (LEA) being designated as rent pressure zones (RPZ) at the Ploughing Championships in Offaly on Tuesday afternoon after the RTB had confirmed to the Minister that the Drogheda and Greystones LEAs meet the RPZ criteria.
Following designation as an RPZ, rent increases in these areas will be limited to a maximum rent increase of 4% per annum.
Under the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016, parts of the country where rents are highest, and rising, can be designated as Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ), and private rents are capped.
The framework for deciding an RPZ is a Local Electoral Area (there are 137 in the State), and the qualifying criteria are:
- If the annual rate of rent inflation in the area has been 7% or more in four of the last six quarters, and…
- The average rent for tenancies registered with the RTB in the previous quarter is above the average national rent in that quarter
Including Drogheda and Greystones, there are now 21 RPZs, incorporating 21 LEAs, in the country (see below).
- Dublin City Council
- South Dublin County Council
- Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council
- Fingal County Council
- Cork City Council
- Cobh
- Maynooth
- Ballincollig-Carrigaline
- Galway City Central
- Galway City East
- Galway City West
- Celbridge – Leixlip,
- Naas
- Kildare-Newbridge
- Ashbourne
- Laytown-Bettystown
- Rathoath
- Bray
- Wicklow Town
- Drogheda
- Greystones
It is estimated that 57% of private tenancies in the country will now be included in RPZs.
Elsewhere, the report showed that, nationally, private sector rents grew by 6.6% annually, while the national standardised rent stood at €1,017 per month, up €63 from the second quarter of 2016.
You can read the report in full here.
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