Rent increases in private rented housing

You and your landlord agree the amount of rent you pay for a property at the start of your tenancy.

Your landlord must follow certain rules if they want to raise the rent. These rules are set out in residential tenancies legislation and apply to tenancies in:

• Private rented housing
• Student-specific accommodation

What tenancies do these rules not apply to?

These rules do not apply to:

• Local authority tenancies
• Approved housing body tenancies
• Cost rental tenancies

Local authorities and approved housing bodies charge differential rents based on household income. While approved housing bodies come under the residential tenancies legislation, their rent reviews are carried out in accordance with their tenancy agreements, or no more than once in any 12-month period.

Changes to rent increase rules from March 2026

The Government is changing certain rules for the private rented sector from 1 March 2026 including the rules on rent increases. These new rules need legislation to bring them in. Find out about the upcoming rent increase rules in our page ‘Changes to the rules for renting from March 2026’.

Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) are areas where:

• Rents are highest and rising quickly
• Annual rent increases are capped

RPZs were introduced on 24 December 2016 and were due to end on 31 December 2025.

But, on 20 June 2025, the Government extended Rent Pressure Zones to all areas nationwide until 28 February 2026. This means that all areas are now covered by the rules for rent increases in Rent Pressure Zones.

Previously, local authority areas and local electoral areas (LEAs) were designated Rent Pressure Zones when they matched the RPZ criteria.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 brought these changes in. There is more information about this and other planned changes below.

What are rent increases in RPZs?

Annual rent increases in RPZs are capped in line with the rate of general inflation or 2% a year, whichever is lower.

So, if your landlord reviews the rent every 12 months and the rate of general inflation is 1.5%, then your rent can only be increased by a maximum of 1.5%. However, if the rate of general inflation is higher than 2%, for example, 3%, the rent can only be increased by a maximum of 2%.

If your landlord has not reviewed the rent for a number of years, the 2% cap applies every year.

So, for example, if you moved into rented accommodation in December 2016 and the rent hasn’t changed since then, the general inflation rate would apply when calculating the rent increase. This is because the inflation rate between December 2016 and December 2021 was 6.6%, which is lower than the 10% that would apply under the 2% per year condition (2% per year for 5 years = 10%).

The RTB’s Rent Pressure Zone calculator applies both of these conditions and calculates the allowable rent increase for you.

Previous rules for how rent increases were calculated

Previous rules for RPZ's

The system for calculating allowable rent increases in RPZs has changed a number of times.

• From 16 July 2021 to 10 December 2021, annual rent increases in RPZs were only capped at the rate of general inflation, as set out in the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP)
• Between 24 December 2016 and 15 July 2021, rent increases in RPZs were capped at 4% per year

The RTB has general information about RPZs, as well as details on the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) and how it relates to RPZs.

Previous rent increase rules for outside Rent Pressure Zones

On 20 June 2025, Rent Pressure Zones were extended nationwide. Before this there were different rules for rent increases if your rented home was not in an RPZ.

In these tenancies, your landlord could not charge more than the open market rate of rent. This is set-out in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

Market rent  for properties outside Rent Pressure Zones was defined as ‘the rent which a willing tenant not already in occupation would give and a willing landlord would take for the dwelling’.

The Government is changing the RPZ system to a rent control system.

Extension of Rent Pressure Zones from 20 June 2025

On 20 June 2025, Rent Pressure Zones were:

• Extended nationwide. So all areas are now covered by RPZ rules for rent increases and rent reviews.
• Extended to 28 February 2026. They were due to expire on 31 December 2025.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2025 brought these initial changes in from 20 June 2025.

Proposed changes from 1 March 2026

Other changes are not due to apply until 1 March 2026 and need legislation bring them in. These proposals include that:

• Rent controls will apply to tenancies nationwide
• Rent increases will be linked to inflation, with a 2% cap on increases in times of high inflation. However, this 2% cap will not apply to rent increases in newly-built apartments.
• Large landlords will be banned from ending tenancies with ‘no fault’ evictions. Large landlords are landlords with 4 of more tenancies.
• Small landlords with 3 tenancies or less will have minimum 6-year rolling tenancies. During the 6 years, they can only end a tenancy for very limited reasons, such as homelessness. At the end of each 6-year period these landlords can end a tenancy for more reasons, such as selling the property.
• All landlords will be able to reset the rent to market value after 6 years unless there is a no-fault eviction.

Landlords will continue to be allowed to:

• Sell their rented property with the tenant in place
• End a tenancy, if a tenant has broken their tenant responsibilities

Our page ‘Changes to the rules for renting from March 2026’ has more information about the changes.

A tenant or a landlord can request a rent review. A rent review can result in an increase or reduction in the rent.

Rent reviews in Rent Pressure Zones

Rent increases in Rent Pressure Zones are capped and there are limits on how often the rent can be reviewed. There are different rules about the limits and frequency of rent reviews depending on if the tenancy is an existing or new tenancy.

Rent reviews for a new tenancy in an RPZ

For a new tenancy in a Rent Pressure Zone, the landlord can review the rent once every 12 months. The landlord must give the tenant the following information, in writing, at the start of the tenancy:

• The amount of rent that was last set for the property
• The date the rent was last set for the property
• A statement about how the rent set for the property has been calculated, taking into account the Rent Pressure Zone calculator

The rent being set should not be more than local market rents for similar properties

Rent reviews for an existing tenancy in an RPZ

If a tenancy is already in existence when an area becomes a Rent Pressure Zone, the first rent review can take place 24 months after either of the following:

• The start of the tenancy
• The date you were notified in writing of your last review

Subsequent rent reviews can take place after 12 months and must adhere to the RPZ rules.

Exceptions to rent limits in an RPZ

There are 3 exceptions to the rent limits applied in Rent Pressure Zones:

1. Properties that have not been let at any time in the previous 2 years
2. Properties in protected structures or proposed protected structures that have not been let in the previous year
3. Properties that have been substantially changed. (A ‘substantial change’ in this situation is defined in the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019. The RTB website has details of the types of substantial change required).

Even if a property qualifies for one of these exemptions, the new rent set must still be in line with market rent for similar properties in the area.

If a landlord wants to get an exemption from rent limits in an RPZ area, they must notify the RTB within 1 month of setting the rent by completing the RTB’s RPZ Exemption Form (pdf).

The RTB can investigate and sanction landlords who do not comply with RPZ rules. There are penalties for landlords who do not follow rent increase limits in RPZs, provide false information about an exemption in an RPZ area or do not notify the RTB about using an exemption.

Rent reviews outside of Rent Pressure Zones

On 20 June 2025, Rent Pressure Zones were extended to all areas nationwide. So, the rules for rent reviews in RPZs apply to all areas.

Before this, there were different rules for rent reviews if your rented home was not in an RPZ.

Your rent could not be reviewed until 24 months after either:

• The start of your tenancy
• The date of the last review

Calculating allowable rent increases

You can use the RTB’s calculator to work out if your rent can be raised and by how much. You will need to enter your address or Eircode, the current rent and the date when the rent was last set.

Notice of rent review

Once the required time (12 or 24 months) has passed, your landlord can issue a notice of rent review.

Your landlord must:

• Give you proper notice of the amount of the proposed new rent and the date it will start. You must get at least 90 days’ notice of a rent review. This means that the new rent cannot apply until 90 days after the notice has been issued.
• Use the RTB’s Notice of Rent Review Form (pdf) when issuing a rent review. Other forms, emails, text messages and spoken messages are not valid forms of notice.
• Notify the RTB of the revised rent, so that they can update the registration details for the tenancy.

Your landlord can notify the RTB about the revised rent by:

• Using the RTB’s online account system
• Completing the RTB’s Tenancy Update Form (pdf) and returning it to the RTB. The form can be emailed to registrations@rtb.ie, or posted to the RTB.

There is no fee for updating this information with the RTB. The RTB’s website has more information about updating your tenancy details.

Tenants requesting a rent review

As a tenant, you can ask your landlord to review the rent if:

• You think it is more than the current market rate for the property or
• You want a new review and more than 24 months have passed

Threshold has detailed advice on how to deal with rent increases. You can contact Threshold for advice on your particular situation.

If there is any dispute about the amount of rent being proposed, either side can refer the dispute to the RTB.

If your landlord has given you a valid written notice of the rent increase, you must contact the RTB with your dispute before the date that the new rent begins or within 28 days of getting the notice, whichever is later. There is no time limit if the notice is not valid.

You must continue to pay your rent until the case has been determined by the RTB.

Protecting your tenancy

You can contact Threshold’s Tenancy Protection Service on 1800 454 454 for general support, advice and advocacy around protecting your tenancy.

If you are getting, or applying for Rent Supplement, there may be flexibility in cases where landlords are looking for rents that are above the Rent Supplement limits.

The circumstances of tenants are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents increased above the set limits as appropriate. Contact the local office that administers your Rent Supplement. The Tenancy Protection Service can help you in making an application.

The Department of Social Protection and Threshold operate a special protocol for tenants on Rent Supplement in areas where supply issues are particularly acute. Contact the Tenancy Protection Service on 1800 454 454.

The RTB deals with disputes between landlords and tenants about rent increases.

There are 2 stages to the RTB’s dispute resolution process.

• Stage 1 is confidential mediation or adjudication
• Stage 2 is an appeal of the mediator’s or adjudicator’s decision, which is a public hearing by a 3-person Tenancy Tribunal.

For more information see our page resolving disputes between landlords and tenants.

The RTB can also investigate and sanction landlords who do not comply with RPZ rules. See the RTB’s website for more information about what can be investigated and how to make a complaint.