Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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What I am looking at is the reliability of the rents. We are told that the RTB is the most reliable source because they are the actual rents paid but in fact they are not the rents paid in many cases where people are topping up and that is not being declared.

My next question is on rent pressure zones and the RTB's function. I noted there was a high level of satisfaction with tenants but that does not extend to affordability. There were huge increases last year. In Dublin, the average monthly rent is now approximately €2,000. That is completely unsustainable. How does the RTB police rent pressure zones? I know that if something is vacant for a couple of years, then if someone comes back in, it is deemed to be a new tenancy and so on. However the turnover does not explain those increases. How does RTB police it?