Written answers

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Private Rented Accommodation

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to incentivise landlords and developers to place their unoccupied sale properties for rent in order to reduce spiralling rents particular in high demand areas. [54244/12]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Government’s housing policy statement, published in June 2011, sets out a vision for the future of the housing sector based on choice, fairness, equity across tenures and delivering quality outcomes for the resources invested. Consistent with the Government’s commitment to equity across tenures, I will not incentivise one form of tenure over another but rather will seek to enable all households to access good quality housing appropriate to their household circumstances and in their particular community of choice.

The Government has already taken a number of steps in this regard. The emphasis in the social housing programme in recent years has shifted from highly capital intensive modes to more flexible delivery models. In this regard the introduction of the social housing leasing initiative and the rental accommodation scheme have served to deliver more housing units more speedily to service the needs in this sector. They have simultaneously served to absorb some of the overhang in the housing rental market, and their continuing deployment will further serve to relieve pressures for people in this sector.

Furthermore, my Department has had on-going engagement with NAMA in order to provide units for social housing and a Steering Group comprising my Department, the Housing Agency and NAMA have been working together with housing authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs) towards achieving this objective. While progress to date has been slow this is due in the main to the complexities of getting agreement from multiple parties operating within an environment subject to a range of legal and financial constraints. I hope that the recent establishment by NAMA of a Special Purpose Vehicle, to facilitate the leasing of units, will ensure speedier delivery of a social housing dividend from NAMA’s operations. Notwithstanding the difficulties encountered, of the units identified by NAMA for consideration for social housing, to the end of September 2012 demand has been confirmed for over 1,300 available units and these are currently being processed.

Data from the Central Statistics Office show that during the 2006 – 2011 inter-censal period the residential rented sector grew by 47% and its share of the overall housing market grew from 22% to 29%. The single biggest component of the rented sector is households rented from private landlords which, in 2011, numbered more than 300,000 tenancies. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 provide s for security of tenure for tenants, minimum obligations for landlords and tenants, and the establishment of the Private Residential Tenancies Board to operate a system of tenancy registration and dispute resolution. The 2004 Act also contains provisions relating to the setting of rent and procedures for rent reviews. It specifically prohibits the setting of rent above the market rent and provides both tenants and landlords with the right to a review of rent, which review may not take place more frequently than once in each period of 12 months nor in the first 12 months of the tenancy. I have no plans to introduce any further measures in relation to rent control at this time.

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