Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Perfect. On amendment No. 3, again, with respect, while the protections are there, they are not working. I will not go back into the previous area but I really urge that it be examined. While a tenant may make long-term energy savings, most tenants do not have the upfront money to risk a rent increase. They may have the future energy savings over a ten-year period but if it means they might end up with a rent increase it is something they are going to be concerned about.While the landlord has the benefit of an asset that is enhanced, they need to be clear on that. Sometimes there is a lack of acknowledgement of the benefits for the landlord of having enhanced their own asset.

This piece is an example of protections being in place but not working. The data of the Residential Tenancies Board show that there has been a 7% annual increase in the rent levels, which was indicated in the rent index for quarter 2 of 2021. We have rental pressure zones and a theoretical level of the kinds of increases that we expect to see in those zones but evidence shows that there has been a 7% annual increase. Amendments Nos. 3 and 4 deal with two halves of that. I mean two suggestions have been put forward. I will cite the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, IPAV, again. The IPAV has indicated in newspaper reports that it suspects that landlords of new tenancies in rent pressure zones play a key role in driving up rents. For example, a landlord, a real estate investment trust, REIT, or a fund that buys a new unit tends to set the starting rent at a very high level. We have also seen reports of the following in the newspapers whereby they may set the rent very high then they may engage in informal rent reductions for certain clients while keeping the on-the-books rent extremely high. One of my concerns with this, which flows from a general flaw throughout our housing and property policies, is that we allow property to be treated as a commodity. For example, for anyone who has a large portfolio and wants his or her properties to change hands or to exchange them, then he or she wants the portfolio to have a high theoretical yield from the portfolio properties that they own even if the properties are vacant. As I live in the centre of Dublin city, I see the evidence of many apartments with extremely high ticket rent prices that are empty and have been empty throughout the pandemic. Let me explain the benefit. A person may have a whole suite of portfolio properties and he or she can say he or she has X number of properties where the rent is €3,000 a month. That is the product and it is not about the monthly rent.

I recognise that this is a tricky Bill to amend. I tabled an amendment on Report Stage in an attempt to discover how we can ensure, if we have designated an area a rental pressure zone for a reason, that we do not have such artificial inflation taking place, which also then creates a lot of pressure and incentive on landlords to seek to evict tenants who have rental protection and who may have long-standing tenancies. I propose that we set a cap on rental increases and a cap on the starting rent for new apartments of equivalent value. Again, the same formulas that were used for rent pressure zones and to cap increases can be used. These formulas may need to be reflected in new tenancies. I have proposed that rent would not be set 2% higher than the median rent. I do not mean the median rent in the area but the median rent for that type and category of property in the area. The restriction is reasonable. I cannot imagine that the Minister of State will be in a position to accept financial measures, and generally he might not be able to, but I hope that he might be able to respond in terms of how the issue will be addressed.