The Planning and Development Act 2024 was signed by the President on 17 October 2024. The sections of the Act that amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 came into force on 18 October 2024 and extend rent controls for another year to 31 December 2025 (the previous regime was due to expire on 31 December 2024). This means that current restrictions on rent setting will continue to apply until 31 December 2025.
For dwellings in rent pressure zones, the restriction is that, unless an exemption applies, the rent cannot be set or increased by more than the lower of 2% pro rata per annum, or the percentage increase (if any) in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) between the date the rent was last set or reviewed and the date of publication by the RTB of the most recent table of HICP values (subject to the overarching requirement that rent cannot exceed the market rent).
For dwellings outside rent pressure zones, the restriction is that the rent cannot be reviewed more frequently than once every 24 months.
The restrictions set out above will cease to apply from 1 January 2026, unless they are extended again.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
