Drogheda to be given Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) status

There was good news for Drogheda renters this week as the government announced the town has secured Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) status. The average monthly rent across all Drogheda properties is €1,036.

Drogheda was given the status following the publication of the RTB Q2 2017 Rent Index which shows that Drogheda now meets the RPZ criteria.

This criteria includes that the annual rate of rent inflation in the area has been 7% or more in four of the last six quarters and that the average rent for tenancies registered with the RTB in the previous quarter is above the average national rent in that quarter.

Following designation as an RPZ, rent increases in Drogheda will be limited to a maximum rent increase of 4% per annum.

Fine Gael and Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd has been long advocating for Drogheda to enter the same RPZ arrangements as granted to Dublin and areas of Kildare, Wicklow, Cork, Meath and Galway under the scheme which began last year. ‘I’m delighted that my Fine Gael colleague Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy confirmed that the RPZ will be extended to Drogheda from midnight tonight,’ he said.

‘Rent security for my constituents in Drogheda has been a major priority for me since the rent control measures were introduced last year. I have consistently highlighted Drogheda’s individual case to the respective Ministers, the Residential Tenancy Board and the Housing Agency amongst others. Tenants in Drogheda have suffered greatly over the last number of years from extortionate rental increases. This will give tenants security in that their rents cannot be increased by over 4% per annum. Whilst I accept rent pressure zones are not the only solution to rental increases, this measure will give security to many vulnerable tenants.’