Threshold: Landlords trying to get round Rent Pressure Zones with additional fees
There is a warning that Rent Pressure Zones can be legally abused by landlords when they charge additional fees.
A house in Dublin has been advertised for a €6,600 upfront payment, broken down into separate charges such as a deposit, rent, management fee and car space.
The letting agent says the landlord wanted €1,600 in management fees, and over €2,000 for a car space.
CEO of housing charity Threshold, John-Mark McCafferty, said it just shows the powerful position property owners have in the current market.
He said: "If they begin to introduce things like management fees, the fees are then added on as additional management fee, car park space, which are rare enough, that may suggest that the landlord may be attempting to get round those rent pressure zone rules by seeking an income over and above a compliant rent and a compliant deposit level."
Mr McCafferty said it comes down to greed: "It's a grey area, it's not necessarily illegal for a landlord to levy a management fee or a car space, but that can be challenged at the Residential Tenancies Board.
"The imposition of new management fees or a car space on a place that has been let for years without those fees can be an attempt by a landlord to try and get round a rent pressure zone."
