There seems to be a lot of confusion since the Government announced they were changing the way which rent increases were going to be set in July 2021 and we are here to break it down for you.
The Residential Tenancies Act 2017 was originally amended to state that in rent pressure zones (RPZs) a Landlord could increase the rent annually by a maximum of 4%., and outside of the pressure zones it could be increased bi-annually.
However, in July it was brought in that the 4% cap is being replaced and from July 9th 2021, rents in RPZs (rent pressure zones) can now only be increased in line with inflation as recorded in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), with bi-annual reviews outside of RPZ being extended for an additional three years.
Using the HICP value on the date the rent was last set, you can see the difference between this value and the most recent HICP value, if there has been an increase in HICP values the RPZ calculator will produce the rent increase allowed however, if the percentage is a negative or zero value it will show that no increase is allowed. It's really that simple
We highly recommend that you always use the RPZ calculator to ensure that your calculations match up with that of the RTB which we have linked to here
You can also view the full HICP values dating back to January 1996 here:
We hope we made the confusion on the new laws as little easier to understand but if you have any further questions on the new rent increase laws please leave your comments down below!
Regards
The McPeake Team
