Vol. 501 No. 4
23 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the average increase over the past 12 months in rent for new lettings of residential property in Dublin and the rest of the country; and the proposals, if any, he has to encourage more affordable rents. [6076/99]
Information on the average increase over the past 12 months in the rent of new lettings of residential property is not available to my Department. Surveys undertaken by representative bodies of auctioneers and estate agents indicate that the overall rate of increase in rents in 1998 has been in line, generally speaking, with the rise in house prices.
The key to more affordable rents in the private rented sector is, in the final analysis, the same as that for stabilising the housing market as a whole – increased supply of housing. The measures introduced in the Government's Action on House Prices, have restored a better balance between supply and demand in the housing market. Housing output has continued at record levels – completions in 1998 at 42,349 units were 9 per cent higher than 1997.
