Carrigaline rent pressure zone
Deputy Ó Laoghaire complained that Carrigaline had still not been corrected in the rent pressure zone system and that Macroom’s designation showed inconsistencies. The Minister explained that RPZ designations must follow the statutory RTB and Housing Agency process, and the Deputy said the area was not being captured.
Some months ago, if not a year ago, I raised an issue in regard to rent pressure zones with the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. While rent pressure zones are not perfect, because they are not applied uniformly, some anomalies have been created. I raised with the Minister a particular anomaly in regard to Carrigaline, at which point he said that he expected it would be rectified. It has not been rectified. In the most recent review, the electoral area of Macroom was designated as a rent pressure zone. The Minister and I are familiar with Macroom and Carrigaline. There is no way that rents in Macroom are rising faster or higher in that part of the county than they are in Carrigaline.
It seems to me that this has been overlooked by the Department. I have followed up on it on a number of occasions and I have spoken with the Minister, Deputy Murphy. In the southern part of Carrigaline and the surrounding areas which are close to the city rents are high and rising rapidly. It is my suspicion, given that nothing has happened since I last raised the issue, that this is an anomaly that was not captured in the legislation and that the Department is not monitoring it. The Department does not have the ability to capture rising rents and, therefore, the areas that should be designated. I hope I am wrong.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for the question. The designation of rent pressure zones happens according to the legislation and the process set out therein, whereby following a quarterly index report from the Residential Tenancies Board recommendation is made to the Housing Agency in regard to what inflation has occurred in a particular area following which a recommendation is made to me, as Minister, to designate new areas as rent pressure zones. Designation happens in accordance with the process laid down in the legislation. It is conducted separate from Government so that I cannot, for political reasons, decide that a particular area might be designated a rent pressure zone and another area might not be.