Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2024
377. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 101 of 6 July 2023, if any part of County Cavan is being considered to be designated as a rent pressure zone. [6090/24]
View answerThe Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 taking account of the constitutionally protected property rights of landlords, introduced a targeted Rent Predictability Measure to moderate rent increases in those parts of the country where rents are highest and rising fastest. Rent controls are applied on the basis of the objective evidence available via the RTB Quarterly Rent Index Report. Currently, 77% of tenancies across the country are subject to rent controls.
Section 24A of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022 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 Rent Pressure Zone (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:
• 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
• 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 data from the Rent Index Report for Q3 2023 relating to the local electoral areas (LEA) of County Cavan is detailed in the table below:
|
Local Electoral Area (LEA) |
Quarters >7% |
Standardised Average Rent in New Tenancies |
Standardised Average Rent in Existing Tenancies |
|
Cavan – Belturbet |
6 |
€1,029 |
€843 |
|
Ballieborough - Cootehill |
* |
* |
€792 |
|
Ballyjamesduff |
5 |
€1,156 |
€840 |
While the LEA of Cavan- Belturbet has had 6 quarters and Ballyjamesduff LEA has had 5 quarters of rent increases above 7%, the Standardised Average Rents for these LEAs have not risen above the Non-GDA Standardised Average Rent in New Tenancies of €1,253, thereby not satisfying the criteria for designation as an RPZ at this time.
The Housing Agency and the RTB continue to monitor national rents and if any LEA in County Cavan meets the designation criteria, it will be designated as a RPZ through the process outlined above.
