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FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, the new system of rent caps will be extended to all of Galway city and 23 towns across the country.
It means rent can only be raised by a maximum of 4% a year in those areas, at the time of its next review.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney signed the orders this afternoon after receiving recommendations from the rental sector watchdog.
Galway City will join Dublin and Cork city as a ‘rent pressure zone’.
The other areas include nine towns in Meath, seven in Kildare, three in Wicklow and four in Cork.
Meath
Kildare
Wicklow
Cork
Speaking today Minister Coveney said additional supply is the right way to address rental pressures over the medium term.
“We need now to ensure that the supply side response is strong and swift by implementing the full range of complimentary supply measures contained in the rental strategy.”
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As rents can only be raised every 2 years with the new rules, does this mean that the maximum increase can be 8% per review, or am I missing something.
@Trevor Beale:
As far as I know areas in the “rent pressure zones” the landlord can raise the rent every year but only by 4%
All it will do is create a black market in the rental market just like in the rent allowance market, people were supposed to be only paying up to to the rent limits, in fact they were paying much more to secure a place and putting the RA limit on the paperwork.
Price controls have never solved a problem, only greater supply will.
Can’t get a black market when the tenant can effectively rat you out. So hardly workable to ask for more cash tbh. Yes I agree with the supply problem
@scoop delivery:
What if it’s the tenant that suggests it? When you have 20 perspective tenants for one property it’s a certainty. It’s already happening with RA.
@Trevor Beale:
Just to qualify that Trevor, The landlord has to wait for the two years of the previous law to be up before the 4% per year starts.
Coveney Fg happy to push up rental taxes by 23% while talking s**te. If he’s serious cancel the new prsi and new usc tax on rents saving us all 11%. We’ll take the hit on LPT. Oh yeah restore interest relief on rental income just like another business. Fg got rid of that. Walk the Walk just don’t Talk the Talk.
I remember viewing a house yrs ago and when I mentioned RA, the landlord said he’d put the limit on paper and we’d pay the difference in cash. Handy while it lasted. We ended up moving to the countryside a few years ago because of rent increases and aside from deplorable internet speed, we’re much better off.
Listen to Joe Duffy last week..estate agent turning up…then ‘best offer ‘ gets the place. They are the scourge of the problem. Estate agents..property pimps.
@: 4% of 1200 = 48.
1200 is about average in my area for a bog standard 3 bed semi, and my town is also on the list above.
I don’t know if it’s related by my landlord has not sent out a renewal for our place yet despite the fact it lapsed a mont ago. I’m a little suspicious.
@Mr Snuffleupagus:
The landlord can’t rise the rent for two years after you moved in or the last review.
If you are in the house more than six months you can stay for another three and a half years lease or no lease
@P.J. Nolan: How did you find this out – sounds to good to be true?!
@Sarah Nic Pháidín:
Apologies for not seeing your question.
Above is the rule but there are loopholes that unscrupulous landlords will use. I would check out the Threshold.ie for info
Isn’t the real long term solution here to allow high rise buildings near city centre to remove the pressure in the first place? This is a demand exceeding supply issue so by increasing sustainable supply the lack of supply itself and rents/prices would subside. Obviously proper public transport etc would need to be in place as well for high rise to work effectively.
lot of shite landlords should be allowed to charge what the market allows.
Normally I’d agree. Supply and demand etc. But when a couple of vulture funds own the majority of properties in a city they control the whole market.
Keith most of the properties are owned by irish landlords. They are driving landlords out of the business. This rent increase limit is not a bad idea but it won’t solve the problem.in a way it will make it worse. more landlords will leave. The big problem coming down the road is airbnb. thousands of properties will be taken out of the rental market.
@Keith Fealy:
Vulture funds own some high profile properties but according to the PRTB 70% of rental accommodation is owned by people with 4 or less units.
The tax treatment of the vulture funds is a disgrace.
Drogheda has seen a 50% rent increase in 3 years surely it should be on that list
Only the Meath Suburbs of Drogheda did. That county line is actually becoming a joke at this stage.
Those towns seem very arbitrary in fairness. Navan and Trim are also suffering and, yet, are not on that list. What about Greystones too?
With the low stock/high demand issue seemingly going to rumble on, would it entice some landlords to let tenancies expire and get new tenants in with a vastly increased rate?
@Donal Kebab:
Your not allowed to increase it more than 4% between tenancies either
on paper at least
So the rest of the country can go swing Covney?
I suspect it’s unconstitutional. Hopefully someone will challenge it.
covney is like tits on a bull,useless….Men in white cots please take him away for some medicine.
As bad as he is at least when you hear of/from him it’s to do with his department, not like Varadkar
I live in one of these towns. In December I was given notice to say rent would go up in March by 25 percent. Does this mean I will now only pay 4% or will I have to pay whole increase?
Your landlord acted legally at the time. If the notice was valid then can’t see why it wouldn’t now.
@Cian O Donoghue:
Not sure your right on that Cian
@Allison
Contact Threshold.
Alison, if you got written notice dated prior to 24/12/2016 it is 100% valid. If not then you should have a case. Also there is a grey area in that according to the Governments own definition it’s based on “average rents”. If the landlord had been charging less than the going rate, you may need to get arbitration through the RTB and that will take months to sort out, and at the end of the day he should be allowed charge a fair rent. If he’s gouging you fu&£ him and go to the RTB.
Alison, just to clarify; there also has to have been no rent increase since March 2015 for it to be above board; previous legislation meant one increase only was allowed in a 24 month period.
But less than the 34% I had to cough up last september. Shouldn’t be legal. I’m permanently broke but have nowhere else to go
Where was price control when we were buying these houses to “get on the property ladder” ??
This makes my blood boil, if I want to rent my house I should be able to dictate how much I want to rent it for!
Countries a bleeding massive mess and getting worse government not grasping its policies are damaging to all kinds of entrapeneur business it’s the hardest little country in world to do business in if you Irish fact .
Cancelling the Fg massive hikes on rental income tax would help!! Of course n/a for foreign vulture funds sponsored by noonan/nama they pay zero tax
How is this going to be monitored? I’ve no faith in a robust plan being put together.
Why can’t this be done on sale prices?
The government needs to bring in incentives to hold onto the small landlord. They’re getting out in their droves. Any disincentives and they too are gone. Government needs to build social housing as before.
It’s a bit late to be capping them now.
@Ham sandwich:
Why, do you think they were not going to keep going up?
Not going to make any difference anyway.
If I were a llord I’d just go airbnb. Charge a nightly rate to a ling term tenant equal to what I want monthly for the property.
Problem solved.
Worth jack shit. Some Landlords will take the rent with there right hand and the top up envelope with there left hand
Yet another, All Style and No substance P R action from an inept government
The real point here is that they are assuming we should be tenants so that they, FG landlords, can do business into the future. Bring on GE17 now.
Does it include Rochestown, Cork ?
I’d presume that falls under Douglas.
@Tony Hartigan: If you’re talking about Rochestown road, it’s Douglas. If you’re talking about the 10 houses that make up actual Rochestown, I’m not sure.
Bray, Enniskerry and Wicklow? Where is Greystones?
Why is Mallow not rent controlled??
Why should it be? Tired of the Govt screwing hard working people. Good job Tom Barry Fg got out of the rental market. Go to school, college whatever, get a paying job, work your ass off, put ur life on hold regarding kids, behave responsibly and BUY YOUR OWN HOUSE. if Fg want to control rent prices they can EFF OFF AND control th on Government owned and built council houses. Last time I checked we don’t live in the Soviet Republic of Ireland.
Is oranmore part of Galway city
have your say