Rent Pressure Zone Rules in 2026: What You Can Actually Charge

All of Dublin is a Rent Pressure Zone. That means the rent you can charge is governed by rules rather than by the market — and since 1 March 2026, those rules work differently from the ones most landlords learned.

The annual cap

Rent can be reviewed once every twelve months. The increase is capped at the lower of inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, or 2%.

Not 2% plus inflation. Not whichever is higher. The lower of the two — so in a year where CPI runs at 1.4%, the ceiling is 1.4%.

One exception matters: apartments whose construction began on or after 10 June 2025 follow CPI without the 2% ceiling.

What that looks like in money

A property let at €2,000 a month, reviewed in a year where CPI is above 2%, can go to €2,040. On €1,600, to €1,632. It is a smaller number than most landlords expect, and it compounds slowly — which is exactly the intention of the legislation.

When you can reset to market rent

This is the significant change and the part most often misunderstood.

For tenancies created before 1 March 2026, resetting to market rent is not available. The annual cap governs, full stop.

For tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026, you may set market rent in two situations:

• At the start of a new tenancy, where the previous tenancy ended because the tenant chose to leave, because the tenant breached their obligations, or because the property was no longer suitable for their needs.
• At the end of a six-year tenancy cycle — the tenancy of minimum duration — which then rolls into a further cycle.

The distinction that catches people: a tenant leaving of their own accord opens the door. A tenancy you brought to an end does not — market rent cannot be set after a no-fault termination such as sale, your own occupation or a change of use.

Market rent has to be evidenced

Setting market rent is not a matter of judgement. You must provide a statement identifying three comparable properties drawn from the RTB Rent Register, matching yours on size, type and character — BER included — and whose tenancies began within the last three months.

This is also why the tenancy registration form now asks for bed spaces, floor area and BER. Every registration feeds the register that every other landlord benchmarks against.

How to serve a rent review that stands up

1. Check the twelve months have passed since the last review, or since the tenancy began.
2. Calculate the permitted increase using the RTB’s rent calculator rather than your own arithmetic.
3. Use the RTB’s Notice of Rent Review form. The wording, format and content cannot be altered — changes risk invalidating the notice.
4. Give at least 90 days’ notice before the new rent takes effect.
5. Send a copy to the RTB within seven days. This changed on 14 September 2026. It used to have to reach the RTB at the same time as the tenant; you now have seven days from serving the tenant. What has not changed is that a rent review notice which never reaches the RTB is invalid, however correct the rest of it is. Include the calculator printout, the previous rent, the date it was last set, and the comparables where market rent applies.
6. Update the RTB within one month of the new rent starting, using the Tenancy Update form.

Since 14 September 2026, serving a rent review notice incorrectly, or setting rent above the limit, can each attract a fixed payment notice of €200 from the RTB — separate from the review simply being invalid.

Exemptions

A property can fall outside the cap where it was vacant for two years or more before the tenancy began — one year for a protected structure — or where it has undergone substantial change.

Substantial change is tightly defined: an extension increasing floor area by at least 25%, or a BER improvement of at least seven levels, or at least three of a permanent change to the layout, adaptation for a disability, an increase in the number of rooms, or a smaller BER improvement. A new kitchen and a coat of paint is not substantial change.

Exemptions must be claimed in writing with supporting documentation, and failing to notify the RTB of one is itself now a chargeable breach.

Common questions

Is my property in a Rent Pressure Zone?

If it is in Dublin, yes.

Can I increase the rent when a new tenant moves in?

Only if the tenancy was created on or after 1 March 2026 and the previous tenancy ended in one of the qualifying ways — and only with the three-comparable statement to support the figure.

What if I have been undercharging for years?

The cap applies to the rent as it stands, not to what the property might have achieved. This is the most common and most expensive mistake we see: a landlord who kept the rent low for a good tenant and now finds the gap cannot be closed in one step.

What happens if I get it wrong?

The review is invalid, the increase is unenforceable, any overpayment is likely repayable, and since September there may be a fixed penalty on top.

Do I need to use the RTB’s form?

Yes. A notice on any other format risks being invalid.

Want to know where your rent sits against the register?

A free rent appraisal gives you a realistic figure based on what comparable Dublin properties are actually achieving — and tells you what you are permitted to charge, which is not always the same number. Get a free rent appraisal.

General information for Dublin landlords, current at the date above. Not legal advice — check your own position with the RTB or a solicitor.