Vol. 529 No. 1
778 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the measures he is taking to prevent rising rents in the private rented sector; his plans in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1134/01]
The Commission on the Private Rented Residential Sector considered in detail the merits and impact of various forms of rent control and there was unanimous agreement within the commission that it would not be appropriate to recommend the introduction of a comprehensive form of rent control. The commission considered the appropriate rent to be the open market rate and recommended that rent reviews should occur no more frequently than once yearly, unless there has been a substantial improvement in the property in the interim. The Government has accepted in full the commission's recommendation on rents and the preparation of legislation to give statutory effect to this recommendation is now commencing.
The key to stabilising rents in the private rented residential sector is, in the final analysis, the same as that for stabilising the housing market as a whole, that is by increasing the supply of housing. The availability of section 23 type relief for designated urban and renewal areas, the tax reliefs included in the new town renewal and living over the shop schemes, section 50 relief for the provision of student accommodation, the rent a room scheme announced in the recent budget and the tax and supply incentives to be included in the Finance Bill, 2001, arising from the Government response to the commission's report are all designed to increase the supply of private rented accommodation.
