Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) are areas designated under Irish law where annual rent increases for most tenancies are capped, aimed at slowing rent growth in the areas under the most pressure. This page is general information, not a legal determination for your own tenancy.
What a Rent Pressure Zone actually is
An RPZ is a local electoral area or similar designated region where the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and the Department of Housing have determined rent inflation has been high enough to justify capping how much a landlord can increase rent within a set period — most of Ireland's larger cities and many surrounding areas have been designated RPZs.
How the rent cap generally works
Within an RPZ, rent increases for an existing tenancy are generally limited, with the exact formula and cap set by current legislation and RTB guidance — this has changed over the years, so treat any specific percentage you see elsewhere as something to verify rather than a fixed fact. Certain properties (such as some new builds) can be exempt from the standard cap under specific conditions.
Checking whether your address is in an RPZ
The RTB publishes an official RPZ lookup tool where a tenant or landlord can check a specific address's status — this is the reliable way to confirm RPZ status, rather than assuming based on general area reputation, since designations are made at a granular electoral-area level and boundaries don't always match how a neighbourhood is popularly described.
Key takeaways
Check your specific address on the RTB's own RPZ lookup tool rather than assuming, confirm the current rent-increase cap and formula directly with the RTB since rules have changed over time, and keep in mind that some properties are exempt from RPZ rules under specific conditions.