A cap on rent increase is welcome but an "immediate rent freeze" is still needed, according to a Labour senator.
Yesterday the Housing Minister announced plans to cap rent increases at 2%, instead of linking the rate with inflation.
While a new law linking rents to inflation was introduced earlier this year, it came at a time when inflation started rising sharply.
Minister Darragh O'Brien has suggested the new measure - which is going to Cabinet today, ahead of the legislation going before the Oireachtas - will be a major boost for tenants.
However, Senator Rebecca Moynihan told Newstalk Breakfast a rent cap alone isn't enough.
She observed: "I still think rents are too high.
“[A rent cap] is welcome in the long-term in order to stabilise rents, but what I think we need to see is an immediate rent freeze.
“We know we can have an effective rent freeze, because Alan Kelly introduced one for two years in 2015. We know it has been done before."
The Labour housing spokesperson said there appears to be a "disregard for the rent pressure zones", given rents have gone up nationally by 7% despite RPZs covering many areas.
Meanwhile, figures released this week showed just 29 landlords have been sanctioned for breaching RPZ rules in the past 12 months.
Senator Moynihan said rents nationally have gone up a “disproportionate” amount in comparison to wages.
She believes a “wholesale reform” of tenants’ rights is also now needed, observing: “We have some of the weakest tenants’ rights legislation in Europe.
“While understandably we want to encourage people to become homeowners, we have to recognise that people are renters at the moment.”
