Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
1292. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to extend the rent pressure zone to Dundalk in view of the crisis in rental costs and student accommodation costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24659/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 24A of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended, provides that the Housing Agency, in consultation with housing authorities, may make a proposal to the Minister that an area should be considered as a Rent Pressure Zone. Following receipt of such a proposal, the Minister requests 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 the Minister on whether the area should be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone. For the purpose of the Act, ‘area’ is defined as either the administrative area of a housing authority or a local electoral area (LEA) within the meaning of section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001. There is no provision for any other type of area to be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone.
For an area to be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone, it must satisfy the following criteria set out in section 24A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as inserted by section 36 of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016):
(i) The annual rate of rent inflation in the area must have been 7% or more in four of the last six quarters; and
(ii) The average rent for tenancies registered in the area with the RTB in the last quarter must be above the average national rent (the National Standardised Rent in the RTB’s Rent Index Report) in the last quarter (€1,054 per month in Q4 2017).
As the average rent in both of the Dundalk LEAs, as set out in the Table below, is currently below the national average rent, they do not qualify for consideration to be designated as a RPZ. However, the Housing Agency continues to monitor the rental market and may recommend further areas for designation. Where, following the procedures set out in the Act, it is found at a future date that additional areas meet the criteria, they will be designated as Rent Pressure Zones.
|
Local Electoral Area |
Quarters > 7% |
Average 2017 Q4 (€) |
|
Dundalk Carlingford |
5 |
€795.74 |
|
Dundalk South |
5 |
€968.79 |
Rent Pressure Zones have their legal basis under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016, which regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector. Pursuant to section 3(1) of the 2004 Act, the Acts apply to every dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy. The provisions of the Acts, including those provisions providing for the rent pressure zone measure, do not apply where the dwelling is occupied by a person under an agreement which is not a tenancy agreement.
Licensing agreements, such as those that apply in respect of some types of student accommodation, are not covered by the legislative protections of the Residential Tenancies Acts because they are not deemed to be tenancy agreements for the purposes of the Acts. Consequently, the restrictions on rental increases in Rent Pressure Zones, provided for in the Acts, do not apply to accommodation types that are not subject to a tenancy agreement.
However, if there is any doubt as to the type of agreement in place in respect of individual dwellings, for example whether it is a tenancy or licence, the matter should be referred to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for a determination.
In addition, the Department of Education and Skills (DES) is liaising with my Department, including through the forum of the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Student Accommodation which is convened by the DES, to examine the wide range of student accommodation types (and ancillary services) available with a view to considering how best to regulate the associated pricing arrangements.
