The number of calls about housing problems to the Free Legal Advice Centres rose by more than 80% last year.
The figures are in the legal rights organisation's 2014 annual report, which was published today.
More than 28,000 people received legal help in 2014 from FLAC with housing, family law and employment dominating queries.
The organisation said that the number of people requiring legal help from its information line was up just over 10% on last year to just over 15,000.
There was also a major increase in calls on housing problems, including landlord and tenant queries.
Housing issues are now the second largest area of inquiry on its phone line, with family law and credit and debt law problems the other top areas.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, FLAC's Noeline Blackwell said the types of queries generally relate to tenants and landlords asking about their legal rights.
She said many small landlords, who may be renting only one property, are unclear as to their legal rights if for example a tenant does not pay their rent.
She said that while the majority of calls to the organisation concern family law matters, some weeks have seen housing queries "tipping" family law.
"In days gone by people would move if they weren't happy with their accommodation and they could move, but now they can't move so easily in the big urban centres, particularly in Dublin, and that creates extra pressure".
