The third post looking at rent controls around Europe in relation to the proposed rental controls in Bristol. 

In Ireland, landlords can charge what they like for new tenancies but are restricted by how much they can charge existing tenants when they come up for renewal. In Dublin they have reported the controls backfiring  as they lead to higher rents and landlords quitting the market. It has typically effected smaller landlords who were charging below the market rental  which have been forced to sell and thus leaving their vulnerable tenants paying higher rental prices.  

The report concludes that this has led to a two-tier rental market within the RPZs, and also landlords quitting as properties become financially non-viable.

Furthermore the properties have then been replaced by housing provided by corporate housing providers – i.e. build to rent – which are usually more expensive than the properties being replaced.