Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Section 24A of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended, 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 (RPZ). For the purpose of the Act, ‘area’ is defined as either the administrative area of a housing authority or a Local Electoral Area (LEA) within the meaning of section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001. There is no provision for any other type of area to be designated as a RPZ.

The criteria to be satisfied by an area under section 24A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act for designation as an RPZ are as follows:

- the information relating to the area, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each RTB Rent Index quarterly report, shows that the annual rate of increase in the average amount of rent for that area is more than 7% in each of at least 4 of the 6 quarters preceding the period immediately prior to the date of the Housing Agency's proposal, and the average rent for the area in the last quarter, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each RTB Rent Index quarterly report, is

- in the case of counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow or an LEA in any one of those counties, above the average rent in the State, excluding rents in the 4 Dublin Local Authority areas, or

- in the case of any LEA outside of the Greater Dublin Area (i.e. Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow), above the average rent in the State, excluding rents in the Greater Dublin Area.

Each RTB quarterly Rent Index Report includes a summary table of the data used to establish whether each Local Electoral Area fulfills the criteria for designation as a Rent Pressure Zone. This ensures transparency in relation to the position of individual areas in terms of average rent levels and increases.

The most recent average national rent available for this purpose is taken from the Q4 2021 RTB Rent Index Report which records the Non-GDA Standardised Average rent of €1,059.

The data from the Rent Index Report for Q4 2021 relating to the LEA of Shannon and Ennis is detailed in the table below.

Rent Index Q4 2021 – County Clare

Note: * indicates that rents in areas with less than 30 observations are not published for statistical reasons.

Local electoral areas Shannon and Ennis do not currently fulfil the RPZ designation criteria under the legislation.

The Housing Agency and the RTB will continue to monitor national rents and if Ennis or Shannon LEAs meet the designation criteria, they will be designated as a Rent Pressure Zones.

It is important to note that Daft.ie is a single platform and there are other platforms advertising properties for rent. Individual letting agents may also maintain contact lists for potential tenants. The report measures rent asking prices, which may be different to the rents actually being paid. The Rent Index Report issued by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is based on actual rents in newly registered tenancies during a given quarter.