Sinn Féin has urged the Government to ban rent increases for all existing and new tenants and in new rentals as private sector rents continue to spiral out of control.

The party's Housing spokesperson, Eoin Ó Broin TD said that the latest Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) rent report shows that state-wide new rents are up by 11 per cent and existing rents have increased by five per cent. It also provides growing evidence that landlords in Rent Pressure Zones are breaking the two per cent annual rent increase cap.

In a statement Mr Ó Broin said:

"In Dublin, new rents are rising sharply at 10% while existing rents are up 4%.

"Across the state, 22 counties have recorded new rents above 10% with Clare seeing a rise of 19% and Wexford hitting 24%.

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"Meanwhile, existing rents are up more than 5% in 19 counties.

"The high level of increase among existing tenants provides growing evidence of landlords within Rent Pressure Zones breaking the 2% annual rent increase cap. While it is not possible to determine the extent of noncompliance with the RPZ cap, it is clear that it is happening.

"The RTB must set out what they are doing to enforce the rule for existing tenants and for existing properties between tenancies. To date, enforcement of the RPZ caps has been almost non-existent.

"With each passing report, the situation for renters gets more dire. There is too little stock available and rents for new and existing tenancies are rising at unacceptable levels.

"Meanwhile the Government is not meeting their cost rental targets, which were too low to begin with. And increasingly AHB and LDA cost rental is unaffordable.

"Government must urgently ban rent increases for all existing and new tenants and in new rentals. They must also increase the renters tax credit and put a full month’s rent back into every private renter’s pocket.

"Most importantly, they must dramatically increase and accelerate the delivery of genuinely affordable cost rental homes and of social homes as this is the only real solution to the crisis in the private rental sector."