Families in Dublin are being squeezed out of home ownership as large landlords snap up the vast majority of new homes in the capital, new figures have revealed.
The data, released to Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD, shows that investors are dominating the housing market at an alarming rate, with Dublin emerging as the epicentre of the crisis.
According to the statistics, 79 per cent of private homes in Dublin are now being bought by landlords, with three-quarters of these purchases made by landlords who own multiple properties.
Just one in five homes in the capital is being purchased by an individual or family to live in.
Nationally, half of all private homes for sale last year were bought by landlords with multiple properties.
Of the 18,000 new homes registered for property tax, more than half were linked to landlords with multiple holdings, while nine out of ten of these were owned by landlords with ten or more.
Sinn Féin Dublin spokesperson Mark Ward TD said the figures show how government housing policy has “sold out workers and families” while tilting the system in favour of corporate landlords.
He claimed Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have “engineered a situation where the housing system is rigged against individuals and in favour of large landlords.”
“This is a shocking indictment of the government’s housing policy,” he said. “Workers and families have been locked out of homeownership so they could be driven into the arms of corporate landlords.”
Deputy Ward also pointed to Central Statistics Office figures which show house prices continuing to rise sharply. He said this is fuelling a sense of hopelessness among younger people who feel they have no prospect of ever owning a home.
“Since Fine Gael came to power, the number of people under 40 who own their own home has been cut in half.
“Since teaming up with Fianna Fáil the situation has only gotten worse,” he added.
Ward said urgent action is needed to rebalance the market in favour of ordinary buyers and stop large investment funds from dominating housing supply. “This is a landlord government with a landlord agenda.
“It has been designed and implemented in ruthless fashion,” he said.
The figures are likely to further stoke debate about the role of institutional investors and large landlords in Ireland’s housing market.
Critics argue that bulk purchases of homes by investment funds are driving up prices and reducing supply for first-time buyers.
Housing has been one of the most contentious political issues in Ireland in recent years, with record levels of homelessness and soaring rents adding to the sense of crisis.
Opposition parties have repeatedly called for stronger restrictions on institutional investors, while government has defended its approach, saying investment is needed to deliver housing supply at scale.
But for many young families and would-be buyers in Dublin, the sense of being priced out is only deepening.
With the majority of homes now in the hands of landlords and investors, the dream of owning a home appears further away than ever.