Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I indicated yesterday that I had questions about this proposal. I would like to tease it out a little more. There is an issue with the BER ratings which are provided for in the Residential Tenancies Act. I ask the Minister of State to clarify the position. He has stated the rent set for a protected structure is the market rent. Does that mean that a landlord may set the rent at whatever level he or she wishes and that it will be accepted as the rent when he or she is letting the property after the specified period of the tenancy? To echo what Deputy Ó Broin stated, this is a very broad exemption for these properties from the protections in place in respect of other rental properties in the same electoral area. Will the Minister of State provide further clarity on why he is proposing this broad exemption in rent pressure zones for protected structures?

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