Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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230. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he plans to proceed with legislation to address the issue of spiralling rents in student accommodation as promised in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47569/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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My Department is working with the Department of Education and Skills (DES), including through the forum of the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Student Accommodation which is convened by the DES, to examine the wide range of student accommodation types (and ancillary services) available with a view to considering how best to regulate pricing arrangements, including, if appropriate, new regulatory or legislative proposals. My Department is engaged in consultations with the Office of the Attorney General to scope out, with the benefit of information provided by DES on the purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) sector, the legal feasibility of introducing related amendments in the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2018 as it passes through the legislative process in the Oireachtas.

It is worth noting that certain PBSA, provided by the private sector, let rooms on the basis of tenancy agreements that are registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. Other private PBSA providers let their student rooms on the basis of licensing agreements which are not classified as a tenancy and, therefore, are not within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016.

If there is any doubt as to the type of agreement in place in respect of individual dwellings, for example whether it is a tenancy or licence, the matter should be referred to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for a determination.

It is important that the design of any new regulatory system to be introduced is mindful of the pressing need to secure the delivery of the pipeline of PBSA development in train and does not deter future necessary investment in the sector, given the critical importance of increasing the supply of rental accommodation for students and achieving a more balanced supply/demand position.