The Minister for Housing has said there needs to be more transparency around rent rates.
It comes after a Business Post investigation found high-end landlords offering tenants lower rates than advertised, which is masking a decline in rents.
Reporters acting as tenants were offered deals in which the actual rent paid monthly over a year amounted to less than what was listed on the lease.
Minister Darragh O'Brien said today he plans to bring forward rent reform legislation in the autumn.
Speaking to On The Record with Gavan Reilly, he also acknowledged that there was "no doubt" that the housing market in Ireland is dysfunctional.
"You want to have flexibility within the market," he said.
"Whether a landlord, be it be a corporate landlord or an individual landlord, we've been asking them to give forbearance to tenants particularly during the course of the pandemic and there have been arrangements, such as a month's free.
"I think what [the article] has highlighted is the issue of transparency, and transparency around rent too.
"I don't think this is unique to Ireland, indeed I don't think it's unique to the residential sector, people have been in contact with me about commercial rents as well where this does happen too."
Minister O'Brien said what's important is how this matter is addressed.
"I noted the point being made that if the rent is being shown as artificially high that a further 4% increase can be taken from the top for the following year," he said.
"It's important that people know, the Rent Pressure Zones, the RPZs as they would be known, will expire this year and I'm working on a rent reform bill for the autumn on what options might replace them and where we will go in regard to tenancies in the future.
"How we can ensure stronger tenancies for people, longer-term rents and how we can ensure people make some significant changes, particularly in the area of increases in rent.
"We have seen a slowdown in rents over the past year, the Q4 data shows Dublin is down by around 1%, nationwide it's flat, but it's still too high.
"I think one of the areas where we're going to address that is by the provision of cost-rental schemes, which I'm bringing forward this year."
Construction workers on scaffolding on the north side area of the Dublin Docklands. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ieThere is a need for transparency as the decrease in rents may actually be more than indicated, he added.
"Effectively you're looking at some developments where the rent is shown at a high amount but there's one month rent-free, that should be spread across the total 12 months which shows an actual decrease," the Minister explained.
Banning such an arrangement would be "extreme", however, because it could lead to a case where tenants don't get the discounts they need, he stated.
"We've got to balance it, we don't want any unintended consequences, but I am bringing a significant piece of rent reform legislation in the autumn," Minister O'Brien continued.
"Certainly, rent transparency is really important and people need to know through rent registers what's being paid in a given area.
"I think we know fundamentally that in most parts of the country, rents are still too high and that's why we need to deal with issues like supply with new forms of rent like the affordable rent scheme that I'm bringing forward which will see just short of 440 new tenancies at a minimum of 25% below market price this year and we'll build on this into next year."
