Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 May 2023
407. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will submit a new request to the Residential Tenancies Board to designate Athlone, County Roscommon as a rent pressure zone, given that rents have increased significantly since this issue was last examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26118/23]
View answerSection 24A of the Residential Tenancies Act provides that the Housing Agency, in consultation with housing authorities, may make a proposal to me, as Minister, that an area should be considered as a RPZ. Following receipt of such a proposal, I, as Minister, request the Director of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) to conduct an assessment of the area to establish whether or not it meets the criteria for designation and to report to me on whether the area should be designated as a RPZ.
The criteria to be satisfied by an area under section 24A(4) of the Acts for designation as an RPZ are as follows:
* 1. the information relating to the area, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each RTB Rent Index quarterly report, shows that the annual rate of increase in the average amount of rent for that area is more than 7% in each of at least 4 of the 6 quarters preceding the period immediately prior to the date of the Housing Agency's proposal, and
* 2. the average rent for the area in the last quarter, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each RTB Rent Index quarterly report, is –
- in the case of counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow or a local electoral area (LEA) in any one of those counties, above the average rent in the State, excluding rents in the 4 Dublin Local Authority areas, or
- in the case of any LEA outside of the Greater Dublin Area (i.e. Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow), above the average rent in the State excluding rents in the Greater Dublin Area.
Each RTB quarterly Rent Index Report includes a table of the data used to establish whether each LEA fulfils the criteria for designation as a RPZ.
The Housing Agency and the RTB continue to monitor national rents and if any LEA in County Roscommon meets the designation criteria, it will be designated as a RPZ through the process outlined above.
