Shutterstock / Vycheslav Leskovskiy Shutterstock / Vycheslav Leskovskiy / Vycheslav Leskovskiy

RENTS AROUND IRELAND continue to rise inexorably despite the two-year cap placed on rental increases by landlords last December.

New figures from the Private and Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) show that, while the rate of private sector rents slowed somewhat in the final three months of 2015, an overall growth factor of 2.2% was seen around the country last year.

The figures are worrying given the difficulty for tenants in finding an affordable place to live at present, particularly in the capital.

The rental market in general across the country appears to be spiralling towards crisis, with the issue being encapsulated by a story revealed over the weekend by the Sunday Business Post concerning as many as 100 residents in Tyrrelstown, west Dublin, being about to lose their homes after their rental properties were bought out by so-called ‘vulture’ funds.

The figures

Over the last quarter of 2015 rents grew at a slightly faster rate in the country outside Dublin:

• The national average rent for the final quarter of 2015 was €921
• In Dublin, the monthly rent for a house has increased by €124 for a house and €105 for an apartment, to €1,431 and €1,314 respectively
• Nationally rents increased by 2.2% over the last three months of last year
• Rents in Dublin increased by 1.8% (houses – 0.7%, apartments 1.9%)
• Prices being charged across the country were 9.8% higher than at the same point in 2014 (the figure for the Dublin market is 9%)
• Worryingly, rents in Dublin are now 0.4% higher than at their 2007 pre-crash peak, while for the rest of the country prices being charged are now 14.5% off their 2007 high

All the figures mentioned can be viewed on the PRTB’s quarterly rent index here.

Rental cap?

A spokesperson for the PRTB says the figures stand as “another opportunity” to remind both landlords and tenants of the provisions of the new tenancy legislation which came into law last December.

“That provides that rent may only be increased once in a 24-month period, previously 12 months,” they said.

It also provides that 90-days advance notice must be given prior to any increase, previously 28 days. As previously, rents may not be more than the market rate.

In the event of a dispute, landlords and tenants can take a case to the PRTB which provides free mediation services (previously there was a fee for the application for any such services).

This provision was introduced alongside the rent stability measures in December.

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