The Community Action Tenants Union and Dublin City Council tenants will hold a major demonstration this Saturday, March 28th, to protest the council’s rent increases.
CATU said they were protesting the controversial rent increase, which will see council tenants pay an average 30% rent increase from April 6th.
The protest will gather at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.
The action comes in response to letters issued last month to tens of thousands of social housing tenants, approved housing body residents, and HAP recipients, detailing sharp increases to their weekly rents.
CATU said that the new policy has sparked “outrage2 among tenants who argue the hikes are “unaffordable” and “will push already struggling households into further financial precarity.”
“These rent hikes are tone deaf, unjust, and pose a massive risk to tenants across the city,” said Stephen Curran, a CATU Dublin member.
“We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis where families are already forced to choose between heating, food, electricity, childcare, the list goes on. An average 30 percent increase, with some households facing hikes of over 50 percent, will devastate tenants and drive many into deep debt. Dublin City Council must immediately halt these increases.”
Demonstrators will present three core demands to the Council:
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An immediate reversal of the rent hikes commencing April 6th.
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A meeting to discuss alternative methods of raising funds for maintenance.
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A published plan and timeline for maintenance and retrofit works.
Tenants have expressed particular frustration with the council’s threat of legal action, including potential eviction, for those unable to pay the increased charges, as noted in the notification letters. Protesters argue that the council’s reliance on punitive measures ignores the systemic failure to provide adequate, affordable housing and transparent investment in existing homes.
“For years, tenants have been demanding proper investment in maintenance and energy efficiency retrofits,” Stephen continued. “Instead of presenting a clear, accountable plan and timeline for those essential works, the council is simply slapping tenants with massive rent bills. We are demanding they scrap these rent hikes, meet with us in good faith, and finally produce a transparent roadmap for the future of public housing in this city.”
Organisers are calling on all tenants across the city to join them in standing against what they describe as a regressive policy that penalises the working-class families of Dublin and widens the housing affordability gap.