Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
554 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the measures he is taking to prevent escalating rents in the housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17399/04]
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Measures to ensure moderation of rent levels in the private rented sector have been targeted at boosting supply of available accommodation. Successive years of record housing output, together with the re-introduction in 2002 of interest deductibility against tax on rental income generally, has resulted in increased supply of accommodation available for renting. This in turn has led to declining rents. The Central Statistics Office has recently released figures indicating that average rents have declined by almost 7.5% since March 2002. The March 2004 Gunne report found that average rents in Dublin have declined by as much as 18% overall since 2001 with about 6% of the decline occurring in the period March 2003 to March 2004.
The Residential Tenancies Bill 2003, currently before the Oireachtas, provides that rents are to be no greater than the market rate and that rent reviews are to take place no more frequently than once a year unless there has been a substantial change in the nature of the accommodation in the interim. The legislative reforms will also increase the attractiveness of the sector to investors and thereby further underpin the positive trends in supply and rents.
