Latest: Labour criticises Governement for leaving Waterford, Limerick and Drogheda out of new rent pressure zones
Labour have criticised the Government for leaving Waterford, Limerick and Drogheda out of new rent pressure zones.
The party says people in those areas are being squeezed by high rents and are not being protected by new government caps.
Those were extended to Cobh in Co Cork and Maynooth in Kildare earlier.
But Labour Housing Spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan says it doesn't go far enough.
: Cobh in Co Cork and Maynooth in Co Kildare have been added to the list of rent pressure zones.
That means rents in those areas cannot be raised by more than 4% a year.
It comes as it's emerged that rents across the country grew by almost 8%(7.8%) in the last quarter of 2016, compared to the previous year.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney says he hopes that the 57% of tenancies now in rent pressure zones can feel protected against huge rent increases.
“Over 186,000 households, who currently rent their homes in these areas, now know exactly what maximum rent they will have to pay over the next three years.
“This also means the rents they will have to pay will be lower than they would otherwise be paying if the designation didn’t apply. The days in these zones of people dreading the rent review are over.”
John O’Connor, CEO of the Housing Agency said that: “It is important to recognise the increasingly important role that the rental sector must play in the supply of quality accommodation. The Agency will continue to work to achieve a stable and high quality rental market across the country.”
: It is reported that parts of counties Cork and Kildare could be added to the list of rent pressure zones later.
A number of commuter towns, including Cobh, Co Cork, and Maynooth in Kildare, will be included when the latest report from the Residential Tenancies Board is published later today.
It would mean legal caps would be applied to the increases property owners could impose on tenants.
In January, 12 areas were designated as pressure zones, joining Dublin and Cork city as places where rent increases were capped at 4%.
However, there was surprise in some quarters that Cobh was not included. Wicklow Fianna Fáil TD Pat Casey also called the exclusion of Greystones an "anomaly" and called for Maynooth to be included.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney outlined the criteria for inclusion: “There are essentially two qualifying criteria: rent has to be increasing by at least 7% a year for four of the last six quarters; and it has to be higher than the national average.”
