Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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253. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to add the Drogheda and greater Louth area to the rent pressure zones, RPZs, in view of the new information (details supplied) that shows the correspondence between Louth County Council and the Housing Agency during the consultation period to choose suitable areas for RPZs, in which Louth County Council state the current rent prices that are far greater than the figures used to decide the RPZ. [8239/17]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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254. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will revisit the decision and designate Drogheda and the greater Louth area in the rent pressure zone, in view of a report (details supplied) that shows the year on year increase in the Louth area now at 17.3% and quarter to quarter 4.2% and average monthly rents at €952; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8240/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 253 and 254 together.

The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 amends the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide that the Housing Agency, in consultation with housing authorities, may make a proposal to the Minister that an area should be considered as a Rent Pressure Zone.  Following receipt of such a proposal, the Minister requests the Director of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) to conduct an assessment of the area to establish whether or not it meets the criteria for designation and to report to the Minister on whether the area should be designated as a Rent Pressure Zone.

For an area to be designated a Rent Pressure Zone, it must satisfy the following criteria set out in section 24A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended by section 36 of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016):

(i) The annual rate of rent inflation in the area must have been 7% or more in four of the last six quarters; and

(ii) The average rent for tenancies registered in the area with the RTB in the last quarter must be above the average national rent (the National Indicative Rent in the RTB’s Rent Index Report) in the last quarter.

The Act provides that in confirming whether or not the criteria have been met, the information relating to the area concerned must be determined by the information used to compile the RTB Rent Index quarterly report. I have no further role or discretion in proposing areas for designation as Rent Pressure Zones or in deciding whether they should be designated. The designation process is independent and based on clear objective criteria and quantifiable evidence. All areas that meet the criteria have now been designated but the Housing Agency will continue to monitor the rental market and may recommend further areas for designation. Where, following the procedures set out in the Act, it is found at a future date that additional areas meet the criteria, they will be designated as Rent Pressure Zones.