Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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847. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that further to the announcement of additional rent pressure zone areas on 2 July 2019, the part of Carrigaline, County Cork not in the former Ballincollig-Carrigaline local electoral area is still not in a rent pressure zone; if the anomaly will be corrected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29477/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Ballincollig- Carrigaline Local Electoral Area (LEA) was designated a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ)  on 27 January 2017 under section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Acts (2004-2019).

New Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts were signed into law on 31 January 2019 for Cork City and County (which took into account the expanded Cork City boundary) for the May 2019 local elections.  The new LEAs and Municipal Districts see the old Ballincollig-Carrigaline LEA being split, with Ballincollig becoming part of Cork City Council. Carrigaline and its hinterland are now contained within its own LEA and Municipal District, which is wholly within the remit of Cork County Council.  

The areas within the new Carrigaline LEA which were designated as a RPZ under the old Ballincollig- Carrigaline LEA remain designated as a RPZ under section 24A(6) of the Residential Tenancies Acts, which provides that  “Where a local electoral area is prescribed by order as a rent pressure zone and, subsequently, any local electoral areas are duly amended in a manner that affects the area of the local electoral area so prescribed, then the order shall continue to have effect as if the local electoral area concerned had not been so amended.”  

Therefore, under Section 24A(6), areas already designated as RPZs will remain designated and areas that are not designated nor due to become part of Cork City Council will retain their current undesignated status.  Areas within the new Carrigaline LEA that were not previously designated as a RPZ remain undesignated.  

Under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 the expiry date of all deemed and designated RPZs is extended to 31 December 2021. The Act further provides that any area falling within the new Cork City Council boundary, which is not already within a RPZ, will be a RPZ from 31 May 2019.  

The Housing Agency and the RTB will continue to monitor national rents and if the Carrigaline LEA meets the designation criteria it will be designated as a RPZ.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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848. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the person of body tasked with the enforcement of the rent pressure zones; the number of staff with the job of enforcement; the amount spent on enforcement; and the reason rent increases in the rent pressure zones are far higher than the cap. [29493/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019, enacted on 24 May 2019, introduces a number of measures designed to enhance the enforcement powers of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and underpin further the operation of the Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) arrangements. The main provisions in the Act relate to :

- Making it a criminal offence for landlords to implement rent increases that contravene the law, that do not adhere to new definitions of a substantial change, failure to cooperate with an investigation, failure to register and update tenancies with the RTB.

- Providing powers to the RTB to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in improper conduct including non-compliance with the rent increase restriction in RPZs.

- Allowing the RTB to initiate an investigation without the need for a complaint to be made.

 The exemptions from the 4% p.a. rent increase restriction in RPZs have been revised so to apply only to the first rent setting, rather than to every rent setting, during the period of RPZ designation in respect of a new rental property, including a property that had not been rented in the 2 year period immediately prior to the commencement of a particular tenancy.

 A definition is also provided to illustrate the type of works that qualify for the exemption from the rent increase restriction in respect of a substantial change in the nature of the rental property

 There are a number of reasons why the average rent in RPZs may be higher than the 4% rent increase cap, such as exemptions for properties that are new to the market and/or properties that  have undergone substantial change as well as possible non-compliance with the legislation. The introduction of the RTB's new powers of investigation and the related sanctions regime, which came into effect from 1 July 2019, will allow the RTB to investigate, sanction and enforce where non compliance is found. A number of authorised officers have been recruited and are now in place along with management and support staff.  Additional resources will join the team following a recruitment campaign. The RTB are  now accepting cases where improper conduct suspected.  

 Increased Exchequer funding of over €7m was secured for 2019 for RTB operational costs to provide for the rising demand for RTB services and the implementation of the new functions contained in the RTA 2019 Act.  This is 60% higher than the 2018 provision of just under €4.4m. 

 The deployment of staff within the RTB to particular functions is a matter for the RTB itself. However, arrangements have been put in place to facilitate the provision of information by State Bodies to members of the Oireachtas and, in that regard, the RTB may be contacted at OireachtasMembersQueries@rtb.ie.