Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that rents in Limerick city have risen substantially since legislation was introduced to cap rents in certain areas; if he will consider extending the rent cap to the Limerick area in view of the recent rent increases in Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23131/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 lays out the process through which rent pressure zones can be designated.  It provides 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.

On 29 March the RTB published the Rent Index Report in relation to Quarter 4 2016, which includes a summary of the data used as the criteria for designating rent pressure zones in relation to all Local Electoral Areas in the country, allowing all interested parties to see exactly where their area stands in relation to rents and possible designation.  The data from the Rent Index Report relating to Limerick is detailed in the following table.

Rent Index Report - Limerick Area

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 Standardised Rent in the RTB’s Rent Index Report) in the last quarter (€986 per month).

The data for Local Electoral Areas in Limerick indicates that these areas do not meet the criteria for designation at this time.

Under the Act, 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.

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.

I have undertaken to carry out a review, in June this year, of the Rent Predictability provisions introduced under the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. At that point, the provisions will have been in place for 6 months and it will be possible to ascertain their effectiveness and whether any changes need to be made to, for example, the qualifying criteria or the designation process.