Second Clare town designated a Rent Pressure Zone

THE Shannon Electoral has been designated as a Rent Pressure Zone, it has been confirmed. 

According to the Residential Tenancies Board, which has published its Rent Index for the second quarter of this year, standardised average rents in County Clare and 16 other counties were above €1,000 between April and June.

The rate in Clare at the end of June was €1,025 - just below Kerry and just above Mayo.

The Rent Index report is based on a number of criteria including new tenancies in existing rental properties, new
properties being let for the first time and new tenancies in properties that have not been let in the previous two years.

The RTB says the report is not designed to provide a measure of the rents being paid by existing tenants and that the term “new tenancies” refers to a new rental agreement between a landlord and tenant.

According to the report, the standardised average rent in new tenancies across County Clare between January and March (€1,025) was slightly lower than the previous quarter when it was €1,073.99.

It was €1,112 in the Ennis LEA and €1,180 in the Shannon LEA. The standardised monthly rents in the Killaloe, Ennistymon and Kilrush LEAs have not been published for statistical reasons. 

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The highest rates nationally were in Dublin at €2,102 per month while the lowest monthly rents were in Leitrim where the standardised average stood at €879 per month.

THE RTB says that having considered the latest figures, the Minister for Housing has now designated the Shannon Local Electoral Area, along with the administrative area of Westmeath County Council as Rent Pressure Zones.

This means that rents in these areas cannot now be increased by more than the rate of general inflation.

The Ennis LEA was declared a RPZ earlier this year, following the publication of the Rent Index for the first quarter of 2023.