Landlords now face a fine of up to €15,000 for breaching tenancy rules. The Residential Tenancies Board has been given the power to investigate landlords and issue sanctions.
Landlords who are found to have lied about needing to end a tenancy or who wrongly increased rents in pressure zones may be fined.
Nineteen new rent pressure zones have also been introduced and take effect from today. This includes all of Co. Meath, Co. Louth and Limerick’s metropolitan area.
A rent pressure zone (RPZ) is a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than 4% per year.
There are three areas where the RTB will be able to use these powers: breaches in relation to rent pressure zones, false and misleading notices of termination and new investigative powers for non-registration of a tenancy.
The introduction of these new powers give the RTB a direct regulatory role in the rental sector. Sanctions can range from a caution all the way up to a fine of €15,000.
