Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has today designated the Westport Electoral Area as a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) effective immediately.
A Rent Pressure Zone is a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than the general rate of inflation, which prevents landlords from increasing it according to their own discretion.
The move is likely to be welcomed by tenants faced with rising rents, however, some landlords may not be as welcoming of today’s announcement
Nationally rents for new tenancies increased by 7.6 per cent, on an annual basis, in the fourth quarter of last year.
The average rent for new tenancies was 1 thousand 5 hundred and seven euro.
That's an increase of 2 per cent on the previous quarter.
The Rent Index report from The Residential Tenancies Board shows the average rent for new tenancies in Dublin was 2 thousand and sixty three euro.
