A Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) is a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than 4% per annum. The RPZ rent increase restriction applies to new and existing tenancies (unless an exemption is being applied). Further information on exemptions. 

Rent Pressure Zones are located in parts of the country where rents are highest and rising, and where households have the greatest difficulty finding affordable accommodation.

* Cobh LEA was originally designated as an RPZ on the 24th of March 2017.  The boundary of the Cobh LEA changed in the beginning of 2019 to include the ‘Watergrasshill’ area of Cork and was subsequently designated on 18 December 2019.

* *Kildare-Newbridge LEA was originally designated as an RPZ on 27th January 2019. The boundary of the Kildare-Newbridge LEA changed in 2018 to include Monasterevin and Kildangan  and subsequently the administrative area of Kildare County Council, including Monasterevin and Kildangan, met the new criteria to become a Rent Pressure Zone on 29 September 2020.

Rent Pressure Zones in Ireland 

Section 24A of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended, sets out the procedure for the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to prescribe, by order, an area as a Rent Pressure Zone.  It provides that the Housing Agency, in consultation with the relevant housing authority, may make a written proposal to the Minister that an identified area be prescribed as a Rent Pressure Zone. Within 1 week of receipt of such a proposal, the Minister shall request the Director of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) to furnish him, within 2 weeks, with a Rent Zone Report on whether the proposed area  satisfies the criteria specified in subsection 24A(4) for designation as a Rent Pressure Zone.

For the purpose of the Act, ‘area’ is defined as either the administrative area of a housing authority or a local electoral area (LEA) within the meaning of section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001. There is no provision for any other type of area to be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone.

Prior to 04 June 2019, the criteria to be satisfied by an area under section 24A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act for designation as a Rent Pressure Zone was as follows:

• the information relating to the area, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each RTB Rent Index quarterly report, shows that the annual rate of increase in the average amount of rent for that area is more than 7% in each of at least 4 of the 6 quarters preceding the period immediately prior to the date of the Housing Agency's proposal.
• the average rent for the area in the last quarter, as determined by reference to the information used to compile  each the RTB Rent Index quarterly report, is above the average national rent (commonly referred to as the Rent Index national standardised rent) in the last quarter.

Therefore, the annual rate of rent inflation in the area must have been 7% or more in 4 of the last 6 quarters; and the average rent for tenancies registered in the area with the RTB in the last quarter must be above the Rent Index national standardised rent in the last quarter.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 introduced new provisions in respect of the average rent qualifying criterion for RPZ designation with effect from 04 June 2019.

Using RTB data,

1. the rent of a dwelling in the Counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow are now compared to the average rent across the country, excluding Dublin rents; and
2. (ii) the rent of a dwelling outside of the Greater Dublin Area (Counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) are now compared to the average rent across the country, excluding the Greater Dublin Area rents.

Most recent RTB Rent Index Report

Table 9 of the report illustrates the recent rent changes at Local Electoral Area (LEA) level. For each LEA, Table 9 outlines the number of quarters within the last 6 Quarters where the annualised rent increases have been greater than, or equal to, 7% and how rent levels in each LEA compares to the Rent Index national standardised rent.

A Rent Pressure Zone calculator is available on the Residential Tenancies Board website to assist landlords and tenants in determining if their dwelling is in a Rent Pressure Zone and to calculate the maximum rent amount permitted for their dwelling.

Section 24A(5) of the Act states –

‘Where the Minister [of Housing, Planning and Local Government] receives a rent zone report from the Director [of the RTB] and the report confirms that the criteria in subsection (4) are satisfied, the Minister shall by order prescribe the area as a rent pressure zone for  specified period not exceeding 3 years.’

Section 24A(6) of the Act states –

‘Where a local electoral area is prescribed by order [i.e. RPZ designation order by the Minister of Housing, Planning and Local Government] as a rent pressure and, subsequently, any local electoral areas are duly amended in a manner that affects the area of the local electoral area so prescribed, then the order shall continue to have effect as if the local electoral area concerned had not been so amended.’

The Housing Agency will continue to monitor the rental market and may recommend further areas for designation. Where, following the procedures set out in section 24A of the Act, it is found at a future date that additional areas meet the criteria, they will be designated as Rent Pressure Zones.  

The Law Reform Commission has produced an administrative consolidation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.