Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2019
680. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the steps open to a person who has been offered a tenancy of a residential property but knows the rent being charged is in breach of the rent pressure zone limits compared to the rent charged to the previous tenant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2636/19]
View answerThe Strategy for the Rental Sector, published in December 2016, introduced the Rent Predictability Measure to moderate rent increases in those parts of the country where rents are highest and rising resulting in great difficulty for households finding affordable accommodation. In these areas, called Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ), rents can only increase by a maximum of 4% annually. The measure applies to new and existing tenancies. This means that it applies when rents are set at the start of a tenancy and when rents are set in a rent review during an ongoing tenancy or new tenancy, unless otherwise exempted. An area may be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone for up to three years. The designation of an area may be lifted earlier than this if the pressures on rent levels are deemed to have eased. The Housing Agency continues to monitor the rental market and may recommend further areas for designation.
A Rent Pressure Zone calculator is available on the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) website at: https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/calculator/rpz, to assist landlords and tenants in determining if their dwelling is in a Rent Pressure Zone and to calculate the maximum rent amount permitted for their dwelling.
The first rent review in relation to a property in a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) can only take place 24 months after the time that the tenancy was established or the time that the rent was last set. Thereafter, rent reviews can take place annually. The existing requirement that the rent set is not above the local market rents for similar properties still applies in designated Rent Pressure Zones. The landlord must also provide three examples of rents for similar properties in a comparable area to demonstrate this. In addition, in the case of a tenancy of a dwelling in an RPZ, a landlord must, at the commencement of the tenancy, furnish the tenant with details of the amount of the previous rent for the dwelling and the date it was set.
Tenants must be given 90 days’ notice of new rent and can make an application for dispute resolution to the RTB where they feel the rent increase is in excess of the market rent or, if applicable, does not comply with the Rent Predictability Measure.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2018 was published on 19 December 2018 to deliver on a number of commitments flowing from Rebuilding Ireland and commitments made in September 2017 to provide powers to the RTB to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in improper conduct including non-compliance with the rent increase restriction in Rent Pressure Zones.
These key measures and reforms are designed to enhance enforcement powers for the RTB, provide greater security of tenure for tenants and further underpin the operation of the RPZ arrangements, and will not only protect those who are renting but will also deliver greater stability and transparency to the rental sector.
This Bill will make it a criminal offence for landlords to implement rent increases that contravene the law, do not adhere to new definitions of a substantial change and fail to cooperate with an investigation or to register and update tenancies with the RTB. It will allow the RTB to initiate an investigation without the need for a complaint to be made.
