Complaints from tenants about rent increases have risen since the introduction of the rental pressure zones, the state watchdog said.
The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) said rulings had been issued in 44 disputes over rent reviews last year, with 77 per cent of rent increases above the market rate being declared invalid.
The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 introduced a cap of 4 per cent on the annual increase in rents permitted in certain areas including Dublin and Cork as well as towns like Naas, Cobh and Maynooth. It followed the introduction of separate legislation last year that restricted landlords to reviewing rents only once every 24 months, while any increase must also reflect local market conditions.
The RTB said there was a 20 per cent jump in the number of applications for dispute resolution last year. A total of 4,837 cases were notified to the watchdog, over 800 more than in 2015. Almost 60 per cent of cases were initiated by tenants. Catriona Walsh, the RTB chairwoman, said last year was one of the busiest in the history of the RTB since it was established in 2004.
Ms Walsh said there had been a sizeable increase in the proportion of households in Ireland who were living in the rental properties. It is estimated that 28 per cent of the population now lives in rented accommodation.
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The RTB said the increase in the number of disputes was in line with a similar rise in the number of registered tenancies. Damages were awarded in almost a quarter of all cases, with the average award to landlords last year €763 and to tenants €960.
In its latest annual report, the RTB said the most common types of dispute remained rent arrears and overholding, followed by invalid notices of termination and deposit retention. It said waiting times to hear disputes had reduced from 26 weeks in 2014 to 12 weeks.
It estimates that 23 per cent of tenants are now paying more than €1,300 per month in rent.
Over 325,300 tenancies (covering 705,000 occupants) were registered with the RTB at the end of 2016, over 6,000 more than the previous year, an annual increase of 1.8 per cent. The RTB recorded details of over 106,000 new tenancy registrations last year. Although this was a slight increase on 2015, Ms Walsh said it was below 2013 levels when 111,000 new tenancies were registered, which she said reflected market conditions, including the limited supply of new properties.
“Many households are staying longer in their tenancies as supply remains constrained,” Ms Walsh said.
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The number of registered landlords rose by almost 5,000 or 3 per cent during 2016 to 175,250. More than 70 per cent of all landlords have just one property registered.
A total of 20 criminal convictions against landlords were secured by the RTB last year. It also received 359 applications to take enforcement action, with two thirds of cases being referred by property owners.
Ms Walsh said 204 Circuit Court orders were secured last year with the vast majority secured against tenants.
Since last year, the remit of the RTB has been extended to include 30,000 properties covered by approved housing bodies, which resulted in the RTB changing its own name from the Private Residential Tenancies Board.