Tentative measures to restrict rent increases will not address the crisis
Plans don’t address the imbalance between the rights of landlords and the rights of tenants
The Green Party said today that the Rental Strategy published by Minister Simon Coveney yesterday missed a big opportunity to create a new rental model in Ireland.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD said today: “The Government has missed this opportunity to create a radical new model for the rental sector. The Government's Programme for a Partnership Government promised the delivery of a new 'cost rental' model for social and affordable housing but this strategy only commits to doing more studies of what might be possible.
“We welcome the creation of ‘rent pressure zones’, the movement towards indefinite leases and the steps towards rent regulation, but the measures announced yesterday will not on their own address the rental crisis. It is not fair that large sections of the country with rising rents are unable to avail of any protection and the 4% increase in Dublin and Cork will still be really difficult for workers whose pay checks are only increasing by a fraction of that amount. Most damning of all, the protection of the rights of tenants in buy-to-let homes in mortgage arrears is not addressed in a time of evictions and increasing family homelessness.
“Focus Ireland has stated that up to 40 children in 20 families are being forced into homelessness every month through evictions from buy-to-let homes. There will be at least 2,177 children homeless with their families this Christmas and more at risk as according to the Central Bank, there are a further 15,000 buy-to-let mortgages which are more than 2 years in arrears. In October alone, 27 families were made homeless. How many more families will this Government allow to be evicted as it refuses to protect tenants in buy-to-let situations?
“While this is a complex area of legislation, it is clear that the Government pays undue heed to the sections of our Constitution that provides for property rights and ignores the balancing requirement to protect social rights and the common good. The Government is still relying on market forces to address our housing shortage. They are all carrot and no stick when it comes to regulating the development sector. This was a missed opportunity to redress that fundamental imbalance between landlord and tenant.”