On Tuesday's version of 'Déise Today', Damien was speaking to some leading auctioneers in Waterford over the news that the local electoral areas of Waterford City South and Waterford City East are now Rent Pressure Zones.
According to the January to March (Q1) Rent Index, the national standardised, average rent is now €1,169 per month. This represents an 8.3% increase (€90) annually and 2.1% quarter-on-quarter.
Once an area becomes an RPZ, rents cannot be increased by more than 4% per year. This applies to new and existing tenancies unless an exemption is being applied. Legislation has also extended all existing RPZs to December 31, 2021.
Meanwhile, landlords renting out their properties without permission could face imprisonment under new regulations on short-term letting, which came into force yesterday in an attempt to ease the housing shortage.
To discuss this, Damien spoke to Des Purcell, who is a leading Waterford Auctioneer to discuss this matter.
Des spoke about how at the moment, "If a landlord is making 10,000 grand a year, they lose up to 6,000 in tax; I feel like this measure will throw a lot of landlords out of business and not entice them to stay in business".
If you want to listen to that piece, you can just click below.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/11231943/waterford-areas-being-added-to-the-rent-
Also on the show, Damien was speaking to local councillor Jim Griffin and Neville Murphy of Winchcrew Waterford Coastguard Helicopter to mark the 20th anniversary of the crash of the 'Dauphin Search and Rescue Helicopter, DH2478' that happened at the Tramore Sand Dunes which claimed the lives of four air corps.
Damien was also speaking to Philip Ryan, Deputy Political at 'Independent Newspapers' who caught up with Fine Gael TD John Deasy last weekend to discuss the recent controversy surrounding him and the Waterford branch Fine Gael.
If you want to listen to that interview, you can just click below.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/11231943/deputy-political-editor-philip-ryan-on-j
If you want to listen to the full version of 'Déise Today', you can just click below.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/11231943/deise-today-2nd-july-2019
