Rent increase rules in Ireland from 1 March 2026

Since 1 March 2026 one rule covers every private tenancy in the State. Your landlord may review the rent once in any 12 months, and may raise it by no more than 2% or the annual change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The rent can never be set above the market rent for a similar home. For a review notice served from 8 October 2026 the CPI figure is 4.1%, so 2% is the most.

That rule replaced the Rent Pressure Zones, which ended on 28 February 2026. It applies in every county, every town and every rural townland, so whether your address was ever in a zone no longer matters. The rent increase checker takes your current rent, the date it was last set and the date on the notice. It gives you the most the new rent can be and the first day it can start.

This is the chapter's lead guide. It sets out the whole rule, the 90-day notice, the exceptions and what the RTB can order when a landlord goes over. The shorter guides in the rent hub take each part further, and the rent increase journey puts the steps in order.

The rule at a glance

How often the rent can be reviewed

A rent review can happen no more than once in any 12 months. The 12 months run from the date the rent was last set: the start of the tenancy, or the date the last review took effect. A review that comes earlier is not permitted, however the notice is worded.

There is one transitional rule, in section 20B. Where your area became a Rent Pressure Zone within the two years before the rent was last set, the first review must wait 24 months, not 12. It catches the areas designated late in the life of the zones, and it runs out as those 24-month periods end. Rent Pressure Zones: what replaced them explains which areas it touches.

A review is not the same as a rise. The landlord may review the rent and leave it where it is, or lower it. The cap limits increases only.

How much the rent can rise

The increase is capped at the lower of two figures: 2%, or the annual change in the CPI published by the Central Statistics Office. In September 2026 the CPI rose 4.1% on the year, published on 8 October 2026, so for notices from that date the 2% arm is the one that bites. The CPI arm takes over only when inflation falls below 2%.

The percentage is applied once, to the rent as it stands. It is not applied to market rent, and it is not compounded for years the landlord skipped. A landlord who left the rent alone for three years cannot add three years of increases in one notice. The 2% or CPI cap shows the arithmetic with this month's figure.

Market rent is the second ceiling. Even where the sum allows 2%, the new rent cannot be more than a similar home in a similar area would fetch on the open market. The landlord shows market rent with three comparable tenancies from the RTB's Rent Register, begun within the last three months.

The RTB's rent calculator is the official figure. Our checker uses the same rule and the same CPI series, and tells you to print the RTB's result for your file.

The notice the landlord must serve

A rent review takes effect only through a rent review notice that meets section 22. It must give you at least 90 days before the new rent starts. It must be in the form the RTB prescribes, and it must come with the RTB calculator printout and three comparable tenancies from the Rent Register. A copy must reach the RTB within 7 days of service; between 1 March and 13 September 2026 the copy had to go the same day.

A notice that misses one of these may be invalid, and a defective review notice does not change the rent. Unlike a notice of termination, a rent review notice may still be sent by post. The rent review notice lists every item and shows how to count the 90 days.

Which tenancies the cap applies to

The cap applies to every tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act, whenever it began. What differs by start date is whether the rent can ever be reset to market.

If your tenancy began before 1 March 2026, the cap travels with you for as long as you stay. There is no six-year reset for you, and nothing in the 2026 Act created one. When you leave by your own choice, the next tenancy may start at market rent, but that is the next tenant's rent, not yours.

If your tenancy began on or after 1 March 2026, it is a Tenancy of Minimum Duration in six-year cycles. The landlord may reset the rent to market at the end of each cycle. At the start of a new tenancy the rent may be set to market only where the previous tenancy ended by the tenant's choice, a tenant breach, or the home no longer suiting the household. A reset is barred for two years after a no-fault termination, including one in the first six months. When rent can be reset to market takes each case in turn.

The exceptions

New-build apartments and new student accommodation come first. Where the commencement notice was lodged on or after 10 June 2025, the rent may rise with CPI alone, with no 2% ceiling. The 12-month rule, the 90-day notice and the market ceiling still apply. The CPI-only rule explains how to tell whether your building is one.

A home left empty is the second. A dwelling not let for two years, or one year for a protected structure, may be let at market rent.

Student-specific accommodation has the same cap, with a reset allowed once every three years from 1 March 2029, and a 41-week maximum letting in any year.

Licensees are outside the rule. If you rent a room in the owner's own home you are a licensee, not a tenant, and the cap does not apply to you. Licensees and lodgers explains what does.

Cost-rental homes are under the RTB with their own rent rules, set by the provider against cost rather than market. Approved housing body and cost-rental tenants covers them.

The rent-setting statement at the start of a tenancy

Since 1 March 2026 a landlord starting a new tenancy must give the tenant and the RTB a rent-setting statement. It states the previous rent for the home, when it was set, and three comparable tenancies from the Rent Register. That statement is how a new tenant checks that the opening rent is lawful and not a reset the Act did not allow. The rent-setting statement says what to do if you did not get one.

What happens if the landlord goes over

Keep paying the current rent. Do not stop paying, and do not pay the new figure under protest in the hope of sorting it out later. Rent arrears would give the landlord a ground to end the tenancy that they did not have.

Refer a dispute to the RTB at least 28 days before the new rent is due to start. The review is paused while the dispute runs, so the rent stays where it was until the RTB decides. Mediation is free. Adjudication costs €30 and, since 14 September 2026, the hearing is public and the report names both parties.

The RTB can order rent paid over the cap repaid, and can award damages of up to €20,000. Since 14 September 2026 the RTB can also serve the landlord with a fixed payment notice of €200 for a rent breach. Challenging a rent increase at the RTB covers the letter, the time limit and the application.

Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, with the notice in front of you. The advisers are free, and they read review notices every day.

Renting while saving to buy

A capped rent is a rent you can plan around. If you are renting while saving for a deposit, the MortgageWise deposit-savings calculator linked below works out how long the deposit takes at your rent. The rent tax credit adds up to €1,000 a year to the pot.

Where this leaves you

The rule is short. Once in any 12 months, by no more than 2% or CPI, whichever is lower, never above market rent, with 90 days' notice in the prescribed form and a copy to the RTB. This month the CPI figure is 4.1%, so 2% is the cap. The cap applies wherever you live and whenever your tenancy began; only the reset rules differ by start date. Run the notice through the rent increase checker, keep paying the current rent, and ring Threshold. If the figure is wrong, refer a dispute at least 28 days before the new rent starts.