Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses for being here. It was great to read their opening statements and the surveys, although I read it all in the newspapers this morning. I suppose that underscores the importance of the discussion we are having. The media are interested in it, we are all interested in it and our constituents are interested in it. That is because it is such an important area. We know rents are too expensive. In my own constituency, according to the latest Daft figures, it is €1,650 for a two-bed new market rental. The average cost is €1,300 for a two-bed to rent in my constituency. Rental properties are too hard to come by, and we know that landlords are leaving the market in too high a number. It is really interesting to get a bit more context to that.

The committee has met with the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, IPAV, and the Irish Property Owners Association, IPOA, to get under the hood in respect of three problems, namely, rents being too high, rental properties being too scarce and landlords leaving the market. As a cross-party committee, what we wanted them to do was help us come up with recommendations to resolve these issues. It is good to have the RTB's input on that matter. I appreciate them sharing the results of their survey. It is interesting that only 1% of people who own a property are interested in acquiring another in the next one, three or five years. That is quite worrying when you think that 96% of our private rental sector comprises landlords who may own between one, two or three properties. The survey results are interesting but I hope the witnesses do not mind me saying that they are a little superficial. I do not understand from the information provided why landlords are leaving the market. There was a box-ticking exercise, which was good from the point of view of throwing those issues up. However, that does not help us quantify what is driving those changes.

In respect of the 100 landlords who were surveyed, what percentage exited the market? Did the survey go to all landlords and only 100 replied? Were 100 selected? I want to figure out how it works. In my estate agents, when it comes to why people are leaving the market, the reasons given are regulation, which 32% of the respondents to the RTB survey agreed with, taxation, which 51% agreed with, and potential changes to the political landscape and potential new policies coming their way. That may be captured in the other figure provided, namely, 9%.

The experiences of our previous witnesses, which we have talked about a little bit, was the RTB360 portal being a key point of pain for landlords. I am interested to discover what surveys or research have been done in respect of its roll out. The RTB is working hard to resolve some of the issues, and I understand that it will be towards the middle of next year before things improve. Are those improvements based on feedback the witnesses are getting? Are they likely to test changes they are making? One of the main bones of contention we heard was that this was rolled out without ever being tested, without any consultation with the people who would be using it and without it being made user-friendly in order that everyone could comply. That needs to be a top priority. Many constituents have contacted me about this matter. I thank the RTB team who helped me with this matter in the past. One particular constituent registered their tenancy on paper but could not transition to online because the two systems are not compatible. This whole matter is about modernising seamlessly, and that was just very disappointing to hear.

My questions are as follows. Have the witnesses any more information on why landlords are leaving the market? How did the survey of the 100 respondents come about? In the context of the technological changes that are being made on the basis of feedback, will the RTB be testing and consulting more widely with those who use its portal?