Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 February 2018
633. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will report on the enforcement activity undertaken by the Residential Tenancies Board to confirm that a 4% rent cap is being applied by landlords to tenancies in rent pressure zones. [5826/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has given priority to the drafting and early publication of a Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill to address urgent issues in the rental sector.
My Department recently conducted a review of the Rent Predictability Measure on the basis of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) rent data and the recently conducted public consultation on the operation of the Rent Pressure Zones. On 19 September 2017, arising from the review findings, I announced a number of measures to further strengthen the effectiveness of the rent setting and rent review laws. These include the intention to make it an offence to increase rents in contravention of the legislation and to provide the RTB with the necessary powers and resources to protect tenants from illegal rent increases.
The RTB is also planning to move towards annual registration of tenancies, which will permit the building of a national rent dataset, allowing the Board to provide benchmark rents for different property types. This enhanced data will be key to understanding trends and behaviour in the rental market as well as informing future policy decisions.
The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016 prescribe the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords in both the private rented sector and the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector. In its role as the independent statutory body established under the Acts to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants, a tenancy-related dispute may be referred to the RTB for determination. Further information is available at www.rtb.ie/tenants and the RTB helpline - Lo-call on 0818 30 30 37 or 01 702 8100 - is available from Monday to Friday, 8.30 am to 6.30 pm.
