'Nothing to warrant Cork rent pressure zones coming to an end', says charity 

Notices of termination have increased in Cork, according to data from housing charity Threshold, as it called for clarity on whether measures to limit rent increases will be ending this year.

Threshold, which supports renters, has helped 1,362 people in Cork who have received a notice of termination since January 2024, data provided to The Echo shows.

The figures include 588 people in Cork city and 774 in Cork county — 297 of the total were in the first three months of this year, higher than any three-month period last year.

Reasons for termination show that many landlords are leaving the rental market; in 58.3% of cases the notice of termination was given because the landlord was selling.

This was followed by 17% due to the landlord or their family set to move in. 

Just 5.1% of notices were given for rent arrears, 2.2% for antisocial behaviour, and 1.6% for a tenant breach, meaning that a significant majority of notices dealt with were no-fault evictions.

The data comes amid uncertainty around the future of rent pressure zones, where annual rent increases are capped in line with the rate of inflation or 2% a year, whichever is lower.

RPZs are set to remain in effect until December 31, 2025, under current legislation. The future of RPZs beyond this date is under active review by the Government.

Threshold’s national advocacy manager Ann-Marie O’Reilly said that the charity would be against ending RPZs.

“The reasons they were brought in haven’t changed, they still exist, so there’s nothing to warrant RPZs coming to an end,” she said.

She said removing them entirely “would be a disaster”, adding that a step-down period or replacement policy would need to be put in place.

“If we move away from RPZs, there needs to be something in place to ensure transparency in rents being charged, and that renters are getting value for money.”

This replacement policy could be a system of reference rents, which is used in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, where a value is placed on a property based on the quality of a home and amenities near it, but Ms O’Reilly said that “a lot of work would need to go into devising” such a system.

“We would be calling for clarity on RPZs from the Government — if they’re going to come to an end this year, we need to know sooner rather than later.”