Good news for tenants as Kilkenny is designated a rent pressure zone

KILKENNY city has been designated as a rent pressure zone (RPZ), which will bring some relief to hard-pressed tenants struggling to meet their monthly payments.

Kilkenny is among 19 new RPZs announced by the Government, covering 11 counties.

The other areas are Ardee, Arklow, Athenry-Oranmore, Athlone (Westmeath side), Dundalk-Carlingford and Dundalk-South, Fermoy, Gorey, Gort-Kinvara, Graiguecullen-Portarlington, Kells, Kilkenny, Limerick city north and west, Midleton, Portlaoise, Trim, Waterford city east and Waterford city south

An RPZ is a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than 4% per annum. This applies to new and existing tenancies (unless an exemption is being applied).

RPZs were first introduced in December 2016 to curb escalating rents in Dublin and Cork and were extended in early 2017 to include Galway city and commuter towns around Dublin.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said the 19 new places amounted to the most significant expansion in the zones since they were introduced.

The minister said: “Rents are still too high and in some parts of the country are still rising unsustainably. This was anticipated, and that’s why we moved to change the criteria for RPZ designation. It is also why we strengthened the enforcement of existing rent pressure zones.

“These changes will take time to have an effect as they have only recently become law. It is also important to remember that the short-term letting reforms should now also see an increased supply of long-term lets which should also help tackle rising rents.”