Rent Certainty is not Rent Control

The housing crisis and the debate about rent control should result in a beneficial change to the regulation of the sector but the opportunity could be lost for want of clarity of thinking about the nature of rent certainty and the distinction between it and rent control. At present rent is regulated by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (RTA 2004) which provides that rent can only change once a year and cannot be more than the market rent. Many argue a greater degree of rent certainty is required and that rent should not be allowed to increase by more than the Consumer Price Index for at least a number of years from the start of the tenancy. In a time of acute housing scarcity others see the necessity for freezing rents to prevent existing tenants who cannot afford rent increases losing their homes.