Public rent register needed to bring greater transparency to the market

Labour spokesperson on Housing, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has called for a residence-specific register to be made public for all new tenants to bring more transparency to the private rental market.

It comes as new figures from the Residential Tenancies Board show new tenants are facing hikes of up to 6.6 per cent in Dublin, greater than the rent cap and far higher than inflation.

Deputy O’Sullivan said:

“These figures clearly show that new tenants entering the market are really at the mercy of landlords.

“Without the cap of 4 per cent in Rent Pressure Zones, which in itself is far too high, new tenants in Dublin are looking at hikes of 6.6 per cent.

“This is much higher than annual inflation hikes and is proving simply unaffordable for many renters.

“There needs to be transparency in the rental market regarding what is being charged from lease to lease.

“The RTB should be given the authority to make public a residence-specific register so new tenants can see what the tenant before them was charged.

“This would help to safeguard tenants’ rights and prevent unfair hikes in rents from tenant to tenant.

“The Labour Party’s Residential Tenancies Bill 2018 seeks to do just that, while still protecting the identity of landlords.

“Our Bill, however, is still at Committee Stage and when we proposed an amendment to establish a public Rent Register to the Government’s own Bill earlier this year, it was rejected by the Minister.

“Unaffordable rents are driving people into homelessness every day; it is time to provide accurate information to new tenants and to freeze rents while this crisis continues.”