Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2 to amendment No. 68:

To delete section 24A and substitute the following:

“24A. (1)The Housing Agency, or a Local Authority, following consultation with the relevant housing authority, may make a proposal in writing to the Minister that an area be prescribed by order as a rent pressure zone.

(2) The Dáil may, by resolution, and following consultation with the relevant housing authority, make a proposal in writing to the Minister that an area be prescribed by order as a rent pressure zone.

(3) As soon as practicable, but no later than 2 weeks after the date of receipt of the proposal under subsection (1) or subsection (2), the Minister shall request the Director to make a report to the Minister (in this section referred to as a ‘rent zone report’), in such form as the Minister may approve, on whether, in so far as the area the subject of the proposal is concerned, the criteria specified in subsection (4) for designation as a rent pressure zone are satisfied.

(4) As soon as practicable after the date that the Minister made the request under subsection (2), the Director shall furnish the Minister with the rent zone report.

(5) In making a rent zone report to the Minister, the Director shall confirm whether or not the information relating to the area concerned, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each Rent Index quarterly report, shows that the annual rate of increase in the average amount of rent for that area is more than the CPI and/or greater than the average industrial wage increase in the last 12 months preceding the period immediately prior to the date of the proposal by the Housing Agency, Local Authority or Dáil to the Minister under subsections (1) and (2).

(6) Where the Minister receives a rent zone report from the Director and the report confirms that the criteria in subsection (4) are satisfied, the Minister shall by order prescribe the area as a rent pressure zone for a specified period not less than 3 years.

(7) Where a local electoral area is prescribed by order as a rent pressure zone and, subsequently, any local electoral areas are duly amended in a manner that affects the area of the local electoral area so prescribed, then the order shall continue to have effect as if the local electoral area concerned had not been so amended.

(8) The Minister may, on a recommendation from the Housing Agency or Dáil or Local Authority, by order revoke an order made under subsection (5) or a deemed order under section 24B and, accordingly, subsection 8(3) does not apply to any such order or deemed order.

(9) In making a recommendation under subsection (7), the Housing Agency or Dáil or Local Authority shall consider and provide a report to the Minister, on such matters as may be prescribed having regard to—

(a) the operation of the rental market,

(b) the operation of the housing market,

(c) changes in rent levels in the period since the area concerned was designated as a rent pressure zone,

(d) levels of homelessness,

(e) changes in Consumer Price Index,

(f) changes in the Average Industrial Wage,

and, before making such a recommendation and providing a report under this subsection the Housing Agency shall consult with the Board and the housing authority concerned on the matter.

(10) The Board shall publish, in such manner as it thinks fit, a notice of the making of an order by the Minister under subsection (5) or (7).

(11) In this section—

‘area’ means—

(a) the administrative area of a housing authority, or

(b) a local electoral area within the meaning of section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001;

‘Housing Agency’ has the same meaning as it has in the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013;

‘Rent Index quarterly reports’ has the meaning given in the definition of ‘Rent Index’;

‘Rent Index’ means the publication known as the Residential Tenancies Board Rent Index which is published by the Board in respect of each successive period of 3 months in every calendar year (in this section referred to as ‘Rent Index quarterly reports’) pursuant to its functions under section 151(1)(e) and includes any other publication that it replaced or may replace it for the purposes of those functions.”.

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