Survey of rental sector to report to Minister by September

A survey of the private rented sector including proposals to stabilise rents has been commissioned.

The work has been ordered by the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) following a request by Minister of State for Housing Jan O'Sullivan.

The board, which by law registers all private tenancies and adjudicates in disputes, will also consider policy options aimed at increasing the supply and quality of accommodation. The board’s findings and possible policy options will likely be included in the Government’s Social Housing Strategy, which is due to be published in the autumn.

The research has been ordered against a backdrop of rising rents, particularly for apartments, with the largest rent increases noted in urban centres. The private rented sector has nearly doubled in size in the five years to 2011, and around one in five of all households in the State are now housed in this sector of the market.

The board’s report to Government will also seek to profile property owners and tenants.

The survey work is being shared among a range of companies led by DKM economic consultants and including the ESRI, Red C Research and Marketing, and legal firm Ronan Daly Jermyn. The contracts were awarded in May after a process of competitive tendering.

In addition to surveying the current state of the private property rental sector, the researchers will also look to the future and outline possible policy options citing best international practice. In particular, the survey will address the question of “affordable rented accommodation into the future, particularly in high demand areas” – a reference to the locally high levels of demand, particularly in Dublin.

The researchers' work will include an examination of policy approaches adopted abroad and may include consideration of policies followed in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, France, Britain and the US.

The research should be completed by September in line with Government plans.

PRTB chief executive Anne Marie Caulfield said the research would address sustainability and quality issues.

“A key objective of the report will be to advise the PRTB on how the rental sector can be sustainable into the future and can play a vital role in accommodating a wide range of households in affordable and good quality accommodation,” she said.

Rents, particularly in Dublin, are now rising at rates in excess of the overall level of inflation following the property crash, which bottomed out in early 2012.

Rents across the State rose 3.3 per cent last year, according to the PRTB, with demand for rental apartments particularly in Dublin rising more rapidly than other sectors.

The PRTB’s latest research findings point to an annual rise of 7.6 per cent in Dublin on average, with house rents increasing at 6.4 per cent and apartments rising at 8 per cent.

The latest data will be published by the board later this month.