Rent pressure zones
It's now a criminal offence for landlords to ignore rent pressure zones rules.
The crackdown comes as 19 new rent pressure zones take effect from today.
If you live in a rent pressure zone and your landlord puts the rent up by more than 4% in one year - they're now committing a criminal offence.
The Residential Tenancies board has been given new investigative and sanctioning powers.
The RTB can also sanction landlords who lie about needing to end a tenancy - pretending they are selling the property for example.
Landlords who breach the rules could be fined up to €15,000 But they also have to pay the RTB's costs up to a further €15,000.
