The Sligo-Strandhill electoral area is among the latest four areas in the country to be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone.
It means rent increases in these areas are limited to a maximum of 4% per annum, with certain exceptions.
The rent increase limit of a maximum of 4% per annum applies to both existing tenancies and rental properties that are being re-let on the market.
However, not all properties in a Rent Pressure Zone are covered by the 4% annual rental cap.
Properties exempt include those that are new to the market and have not been let at any time in the previous two years, properties that are in a protected or proposed protected structure and haven’t been rented in
the previous 12 months, and properties that have undergone a substantial change in the nature of the
accommodation.
The Residential Tenancies Board says landlords should note that if a tenancy was already in existence when the area was designated, the tenancy will remain in the 24 month rent certainty measures until the next rent review.
In non-RPZ areas, landlords can only review the rent once in every 24 month period.
For an area to qualify as a Rent Pressure Zone, the annual rate of rent inflation must have been 7% or more in four of the last six quarters.
Also, the average rent in the previous quarter must be above the average national rent in the
quarter.
The Residential Tenancies Board says that using this criteria, the Sligo-Strandhill Local Electoral Area has qualified as an RPZ as it has met the designation criteria for counties outside the Greater Dublin area.
