Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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271. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the policies in place to help accidental landlords who kept their rent low and are now trapped in rent pressure zones and unable to raise their rent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42945/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 introduced the Rent Predictability Measure to moderate rent increases in those parts of the country where rents are highest and rising fastest, causing difficulty for households in finding affordable accommodation. In these areas, called Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ), rents can only increase by a maximum of 4% annually. The measure applies to new and existing tenancies. This means that it applies when rents are set at the start of a tenancy and when rents are set during a rent review in respect of an ongoing tenancy, unless otherwise exempted.

An exemption applies to the first rent setting of a tenancy of a dwelling where:

- no tenancy existed in respect of the dwelling during the two years immediately prior to this current tenancy beginning;

or

- no tenancy existed in respect of the dwelling where the dwelling is a protected structure, or is in a protected structure, or is a proposed protected structure during the 12 months immediately prior to the current tenancy beginning. A protected structure is defined in the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 Act provides a legal definition of ‘substantial change in the nature of rental accommodation’ to illustrate the type of works to be carried out to a rental property to qualify for an exemption from the annual rent increase restriction applicable in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs).

Such works shall result in:

- a permanent extension increasing the floor area by 25%; or

- an improvement in the Building Energy Rating (BER) by at least 7 ratings; or

- at least 3 of the following:

- a permanent alteration of the internal layout;

- adaptations for a person with a disability;

- a permanent increase in the number of rooms;

- an improvement in the BER by 3 or more ratings where the original BER was D1 or lower; or

- an improvement in the BER by 2 or more ratings where the original BER was C3 or higher

and the aforementioned works do not solely consist of works carried out for the purposes of compliance with the minimum standards in rented accommodation, as prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019.

Under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019, the expiry date of all deemed and designated RPZs was extended to 31 December 2021. The restrictions have had a moderating effect on rent increases and have provided a measure of certainty for landlords and tenants alike, with regard to medium-term rent levels. The operation of the RPZ provisions are kept under constant review by the Housing Agency and by my Department.

A Rent Pressure Zone calculator is available on the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) website at: , to assist landlords and tenants in determining if their dwelling is in a Rent Pressure Zone and to calculate the maximum rent increase permitted for their dwelling, considering the current rent and the time elapsed since the last review of rent.

Tenants must be given 90 days’ notice of new rent and can make an application for dispute resolution to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) where they believe that the rent increase is in excess of the market rent or, if applicable, does not comply with the Rent Predictability Measure.

Further information on Rent Pressure Zones and designations is available on my Department's website at www.housing.gov.ie, by searching 'rent pressure zones'.