Government policy turning rental crisis into full-blown disaster says Hearne

The rental crisis is going from bad to worse thanks to failed government housing policy and lack of protections for tenants, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.

Hearne, the party spokesperson on housing was speaking after average rents rose by 5.5% to €1,696 for the first three months of the year.

The Dublin North-West TD said “the latest figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (reveal the true scale of the rental disaster, which is completely of this government’s making.”

Hearne noted that existing tenancies – where there is supposed to be a two per cent cap in place under Rent Pressure Zone (regulations – saw a 4.4% rise to €1,452 per month.

“This is completely unacceptable and highlights a clear lack of oversight and enforcement of existing laws.”

“The RTB also reported an increase for the same period in the number of corporate landlords renting out 100 properties or more – up from 11.8% a year ago to 13.9% – while the number of smaller landlords has reduced.

He said, “the sad reality is that rents will continue to rise as long as big landlords continue to be the government’s preferred choice of delivery when it comes to rental properties.”

Hearne also criticised that evictions are at record levels; there were 4,728 notices to quit issued, up 17% year-on year.

He said the situation in the housing market is not viable for renters, and that rent freezes and a re-introduction of the no-fault eviction ban need to be implemented.

“Repeating the same mistakes of the past will not get us out of this crisis. We need to see a huge increase in affordable purchase and rental homes, delivered directly by the State and Approved Housing Bodies,” he said.”

“This could be funded through the Social Democrats’ proposed Homes for Ireland Savings Account (HISA), which would leverage some of the €160 billion in Irish savings to deliver tens of thousands of affordable homes over the next five years.”