S.I. No. 756/2021 - Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Cost Rental Rent Setting) Regulations 2021

1. The new rent of €

[insert amount of the new rent]

per month is less than / equal to

(delete as appropriate)

the maximum rent that can now be set for your dwelling under the

Affordable Housing Act 2021

.

2. The maximum permissible rent that can now be set is the previous rent of €

[insert amount of previous rent]

per month adjusted by the percentage change in the Central Statistics Office’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) between the following

(a)

the setting of the initial rent for your Cost Rental tenancy on

[insert Date F, the date of initial setting of rent]

, as recorded in your Tenancy Agreement / The setting of the rent under the previous rent review on

[insert Date G, the date of signing of previous Notice]

, as recorded in the previous Rent Review Notice,

(delete other clause as appropriate)

or

(b)

the calculation of the new rent on

[insert Date H, the date of signing of this Notice]

/ the new rent having effect from the date inserted in paragraph 5 of the Rent Review Notice, the date from which the new rent is to have effect.

(

whichever is earlier, delete other clause)

3. The relevant previous value of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices was

[insert previous relevant HICP value, as recorded in Tenancy Agreement or previous Notice]

on

[insert Date I, the date of previous relevant HICP value, as recorded in Tenancy Agreement or previous Notice]

which was the latest CSO data point immediately preceding

the calculation of the initial rent for your Cost Rental tenancy on

[insert Date F, the date of initial setting of rent]

, as recorded in your Tenancy Agreement /

the setting of the rent under the previous rent review on

[insert Date G, date of signing of previous Notice]

, as recorded in the previous Rent Review Notice.

(delete other clause as appropriate)

4. The relevant new value of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices is

[insert current relevant HICP value]

on

[insert Date J, the date of current relevant HICP value]

which is the latest Central Statistics Office data point immediately preceding

the calculation of the new rent on

[insert Date K, the date that the Notice is signed]

/ the new rent having effect from the date inserted in paragraph 5 of the Rent Review Notice, the date from which the new rent is to have effect.

(whichever is earlier, delete other clause)

You may check these HICP figures for yourself by consulting the Residential Tenancies Board website at

https://www.rtb.ie/calculator/hicp-index

5. The difference between these two HICP values is

[insert numerical difference]

, which is a change of

[insert HICP percentage change]

per cent (rounded to two decimal places).

6. Adjusting the previous rent of €

[insert amount of the previous rent]

per month by

[

insert

HICP percentage change]

per cent gives a maximum permissible rent of €

[insert result of calculation]

per month (rounded to the nearest euro), to take effect from the date inserted in paragraph 5 of the Rent Review Notice, the date from which new rent is to take effect.

PART C

(Declaration by landlord/authorised agent)

I declare that all the information that I have given on this Rent Review Notice is correct.

Signature

[To be signed by landlord]

OR

Signature

[To be signed by authorised agent of the landlord]

Date

[Insert Date L, the date that the Rent Review Notice is signed]

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

23 December, 2021.

DARRAGH O’BRIEN,

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

This is not part of the Statutory Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation

.)

These Regulations prescribe additional detail and relevant formulae in order to set out how rent reviews under Cost Rental work in practice. Rents can be reviewed annually in line with the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), with formulae set out for how reviews should be undertaken in three specific circumstances: the first rent in any tenancy, the first review of this rent, and all subsequent reviews of this rent. All rents calculated are maximum rents, meaning landlords are free to charge the tenant less than this should they so wish.

The Schedule to these Regulations also prescribes the form of the Rent Review Notice to be served by a landlord on a tenant or tenants in a Cost Rental tenancy. This prescribed form of Notice is distinct from the form prescribed for use in residential tenancies other than Cost Rental tenancies, and includes an explanation for how this rent was arrived at, and a declaration by the landlord that the information in the review is correct.

7. As set out in your Tenancy Agreement, you are entitled to not less than 28 days from the date of receipt of this Notice before you must make your first monthly rent payment at the new rate. This will give you time to make changes to any payment arrangements that you have in place. In the meantime, you can continue to pay at the previous monthly rate for any rent payment that falls due within this period.

8. If this Notice is received by you on or before the date inserted in paragraph 5 of this Notice, the date from which the new rent is to have effect, your first monthly rent payment at the new rate will fall due on

[insert Date B],

the first rent day after expiration of 28 days from the date inserted in paragraph 5. If the Notice is received by you after the date inserted in paragraph 5 of this Notice, then you will not have to make your first monthly payment at the new rate until

[insert Date C],

the second rent day after expiration of not less than 28 days from the date inserted in paragraph 5 of this Notice.

Your landlord will have a record of the delivery of this Notice by registered post / email

(delete as appropriate)

,

so they will be able to demonstrate the date of receipt in the case of a dispute. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, you may be deemed to receive this Notice on the third working day following posting by registered post.

Referral of a dispute to the RTB

9. Any dispute in relation to the new rent must be referred to the Residential Tenancies Board not later than 28 days after the date of receipt of this Notice.

10. If a dispute is referred to the Residential Tenancies Board and the new rent is upheld by the Board, you will continue to pay rent at the previous rate until the first rent day not less than 21 days after the Board’s determination of the case.

Difference arising between old and new rent levels

11. The difference between the previous rent and the rent is €

[state difference between existing and new rents]

per month, so a difference may arise for the time between the new rent coming into effect on the date inserted in paragraph 5 of this Notice and you making your first rent payment at the new monthly rate. As set out in your Tenancy Agreement, you have until

[insert Date E],

which is 12 weeks after the date inserted in paragraph 5 of this Notice, to settle this amount with your landlord.

12. If a dispute in relation to the new rent is referred to the Residential Tenancies Board and the new rent is upheld by the Board, the amount that arises from this difference will have to be settled with your landlord not later than 12 weeks from the date of the Board’s determination. The amount that arises from the difference may increase during the time the dispute is being considered by the Board.

PART B

(Maximum rent calculation details)

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

4

th January,

2022.

I, DARRAGH O’BRIEN, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

sections 3

,

31

and

33

of the

Affordable Housing Act 2021

(No. 25 of 2021), hereby make the following regulations

Citation and commencement