Landlords forcing tenants into illegal ‘top-ups’, warns charity

Housing charity Threshold yesterday welcomed a new rent index published by the Private Residential Tenancies Board but warned that some landlords not registered with the board could be “masking” rent increases elsewhere.

The PRTB Index covers rents as received by registered members since 2007 up to the end of the first quarter of this year and indicates that rents are remaining high in a market in a growing rental sector.

The latest index figures show an average monthly rental figure of €785 overall on a mix-adjusted basis, with rents in Dublin standing at an average of €974.