Rental payments should not be more than a third of one’s income, Caritas said in its reaction to the White Paper on the Rental Market.

It said that where this was not the case, the renter should be given a subsidy to make up the difference.

The White Paper, published on Tuesday, aims to ensure stability and predictability for the growing number of long-term tenants and landlords.

The organisation said the market should be monitored continuously to create a rental index with the information gathered being publicly accessible.

A mechanism of effective enforcement should be created for the principles declared in the White Paper to be implemented so as to control abuse as much as possible.

All this would help find a balance between the various competing interests in the sector. It would also ensure that the market was not only free but also fair and one that safeguarded all levels of society, especially the vulnerable and the marginalised.

Caritas said it has been expressing its concern for people whose income was not enough to keep up with the cost of living and rent increases.

The situation was more grievous in the case of people who were socially marginalised, those who suffered from a physical or mental condition, the elderly and people trying to get out of a dependency.

This was reflected in the increase in applications for social accommodation which currently numbered some 3,200.

Caritas welcomed the White Paper and hoped that the principles that aimed at stability, sustainability, protection and guarantees both for the owners and the renters would be implemented.