Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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1707. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if consideration has been given to applying a rent pressure zone to Dundalk (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54406/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2016 sets 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.

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 to 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 (€1,056 per month).

On 20 December 2017, the RTB published the Rent Index Report in relation to Quarter 3 2017, 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. This allows all interested parties to see exactly where their area stands in relation to average rent levels and increases and possible designation. The data from the Rent Index Report relating to Dundalk are detailed in the following table:

While in 5 of the last 6 quarters rent inflation in Dundalk has been 7% or greater, the average monthly rent in the local electoral area of Dundalk Carlingford is €723.91 and in Dundalk South is €881.17, which are both below the average national standardised rent of €1,056 per month. Therefore, the Local Electoral Areas in Dundalk 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.