Study claims rent pressure zones have added to rent pressures
www.irishtimes.com
Government measures to control rents have backfired and in many cases have led to an increase in rents, a new report has claimed.
The study by economist
Jim Power suggests that Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs), introduced in 2016 to limit rent price increases, have resulted in significant “rent rigidities” and an inefficient two-tier system where the proper maintenance of rental properties is no longer economically viable.
This has prompted many smaller landlords to exit the market and to be replaced by institutional landlords with new stock at higher rents.
A longstanding complaint against the RPZ system is that new rental properties or tenancies are excluded from the restrictions and can be put on the market at any rent.
“The real losers are tenants at the lower end of the market,” Mr Power said
Market
The report, commissioned by the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) and the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA), concludes that the Irish rental market is not functioning in an effective manner and that RPZs are undermining the market and not achieving what they are intended to achieve.