COMMENT: Children’s rights often forgotten in rental crisis

IT DOESN’T seem so long ago when we were about to go all European in our attitudes towards renting. As families drowned in unsustainable mortgage debt and entered into negative equity territory, renting was almost looking like the most viable option.

‘Renting is the new buying’. I’m sure I read that headline somewhere.

While our neighbours on the continent largely enjoy rent certainty and the security of long-term leases, we had to make do with a patchwork approach to fixing our dysfunctional rental sector. There was fighting talk from the last Government, but in the end they could only come up with a few sticking plaster solutions. For instance, a landlord can now only hike rent every two years instead of one and the notice period for increases has been extended.

But as figures released last week by the Private Residential Tenancies Board show, the measures have come too late.

Rents in Dublin are now higher than they were at the peak of the boom. Nationally, rents increased by 9.8 per cent last year.

In the capital, rents increased by nine per cent in 2015, with the amounts paid for houses up 9.5 per cent and apartments up 8.7 per cent. This means that the average rent for a house in Dublin is €1,431 and €1,314 for an apartment. This compares with €1,307 for a house and €1,209 for an apartment in Dublin at the end of 2014. 

It’s a different story outside Dublin where rents are still almost 15 per cent below their 2007 peak. 

Behind the figures, of course, lie the human stories. So it was somewhat timely that the Children’s Rights Alliance launched its 2016 report card in the same week.

For the fourth consecutive year, the outgoing Government received an overall ‘C’ grade from the alliance, reflecting a number of positive developments during its term in office. However, according to this year’s report, there are still some areas where our politicians have continued to fail the most marginalised groups.

And surprise, surprise: the Fine Gael/Labour coalition only got an ‘E’ grade for child poverty, while child and youth homelessness dropped to an ‘F’.

Will the incoming Government do any better when next year’s report is published? Unless the crisis in the private rental market is tackled head on and progress is made in the provision of social housing, I wouldn’t bet on it.