Landlords hit with sanctions for raising rents over the legal limit

Landlord have been sanctioned for improper conduct, including raising rents above legal limits.

The Residential Tenancies Board has issued nine sanctions against landlords for improper conduct, the majority for raising rents above the legal limits.

Since 2019, the RTB said its investigations had led to over €300,000 in overcharged rent being returned to tenants by landlords and almost €38,000 in sanctions paid by landlords to date.

At the moment, the public body has a pipeline of over 440 investigations into alleged improper conduct by landlords which are at varying stages of the investigative process.

Under the legislation, it has the power to inspect premises, to compel people to assist with the investigation by producing certain documents, or attending an interview or oral hearing.

This is the second time the RTB has published details of sanctions it has imposed since it was given such powers. 

Details of 38 sanctions have been published to date. 

Of the nine latest sanctions, eight were in Dublin and one was in Louth. The fines ranged from €500 to €2,684.

In rent pressure zones, a household’s rent can’t increase by more than the rate of general inflation or 2% a year, whichever is lower. 

When it was first introduced in 2016, the limit was 4%. 

Areas designated as rent pressure zones include the cities of Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford.

Over 90% of the cases where sanctions have been imposed by the RTB relate to breaches of rent pressure zone regulations.

In cases where the RTB finds that tenants have been overcharged on their rent, it ensures that rents are reset to amounts in compliance with the legislation. 

In the nine cases outlined by the RTB, all of the landlords acknowledged their improper conduct at the beginning of the investigation. The RTB said this was taken into consideration when deciding the type of sanction and the financial penalty imposed.

RTB director Niall Byrne said: “Because of the potential financial impact on individual tenants, the RTB is currently prioritising investigations into breaches of Rent Pressure Zone requirements.

“If landlords find themselves in a situation where they are not compliant with rental law, I would urge landlords to take action early to remedy the situation so they do not become the subject of an investigation, which could result in sanctions and costs of up to €30,000.” 

Mr Byrne said that they would continue to publish details of sanctions issued on an ongoing basis “in the interests of assuring the public that the RTB is actively regulating the residential sector.”

It added that any tenant or member of the public is aware of a potential breach by a landlord of rental law, it should bring this to the attention of the RTB.

Earlier this week, research from the ESRI suggested that such rent stabilisation measures can be beneficial to tenants under pressure from escalating costs but can also lead to maintenance and upkeep apathy from landlords and owners. 

The RTB said it welcomed this research and said it provided “important insights” on the impact of rent pressure zones in Ireland.