J2 · 5 steps
My rent is going up
Since 1 March 2026 one set of rules covers the whole country: a review once in twelve months, a rise of no more than 2% or the annual change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower, and a notice with set contents 90 days before the new rent starts. Five steps take a rent review notice from the envelope to a decision.
Checked 27 OCT 2026The last-set date is the start of the tenancy if the rent has never been reviewed, otherwise the date the last review took effect. The start date decides whether your tenancy can ever be reset to market.
It applies the twelve-month rule, or 24 months where the area became a Rent Pressure Zone within two years before the rent was last set, the 2% or CPI cap with the CPI figure for your review date, the new-build apartment exception, and the reset rules for your start date. It gives the most the rent can be.
The RTB's own calculator is the official figure; the checker shows you what to expect from it.
At least 90 days before the new rent starts, in the prescribed form, with the RTB rent calculator printout, three comparable tenancies from the Rent Register, and a copy to the RTB within 7 days. A notice that misses any of these may be invalid.
Reply in writing disputing the review; the letter builder has the reply. Refer a dispute to the RTB before the new rent is due: a dispute referred in time pauses the review until it is decided. Keep paying the current rent.
Rent paid above the lawful amount can be ordered repaid, with damages of up to €20,000. Gather the review notice, the rent record and every payment since the increase.
Questions people ask
Which CPI figure applies?
The annual change in the CPI published by the CSO, as applied by the RTB's calculator for the date the new rent starts. The checker carries the figure in its rules file with the month it refers to; the RTB calculator on the day is the official check.
My town was never a Rent Pressure Zone. Does the cap still apply?
Yes. Rent Pressure Zones ended on 28 February 2026 and the cap applies nationwide. The one transitional rule is that an area designated within the two years before the rent was last set waits 24 months, not 12, for its first review.
Can a new landlord reset my rent?
Not within your tenancy. A tenancy that began before 1 March 2026 cannot be reset to market for as long as it lasts, whoever owns the building. A tenancy that began on or after that date can be reset only at the end of a six-year cycle or at the start of a new tenancy after certain endings, never within two years of a no-fault termination.
Does refusing to pay the increase put me in arrears?
If the increase is lawful and you pay the old rent after the review date, the shortfall is arrears. If you have referred a dispute in time the review is paused and the old rent is the lawful rent until the RTB decides. That is why the timing of the dispute matters.