Renters thrown under a bus by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
Renters thrown under a bus by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil - The Labour Party
- Govt must pass Labour’s renters rights bill
Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has urged the Housing Minister James Browne, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to see sense and abandon their plan to allow landlords to reset rents in between tenancies.
Deputy Sheehan said the proposed changes to the RPZs are the worst of both worlds.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“The Government are right – radical changes to rent laws are needed but to protect the thousands of renters who are struggling to make ends meet.
“The Minister can’t claim to be on renters’ side, and yet allow landlords to increase rents in between tenancies without any protection for renters.
“I’m deeply concerned at the approach being pursued under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael which is pushing more and more people out of secure housing.
“The proposed creation of a two-tier rental system would only serve to further increase rents.
“RPZs are a blunt measure and are frequently flouted because rents go up by more than the rate at which they are supposed to under the legislation. I urge the Government not to make a bad situation worse by introducing a halfway house, whereby rents can just recalibrate upwards between tenancies.
“While RPZs have been very ham-fisted, they are the only bit of protection renters have in the private rented market at the moment.
“My concern is that if we go by a model whereby rent can recalibrate between tenancies, it will increase the termination of tenancies in order to increase rental income. We will end in a worse situation than we are in at present.
“The Minister is wrong to believe the spin put forward by large institutional investors when it comes to the rental market. We know that the demand is there, and people are being forced to do more with less. I raised this in the Dáil with the Minister on April 2nd.
“Dublin is the second most expensive city to live in after Zurich. Belfast, which is approximately 140 km away and uses similar supply chains, is the second cheapest city.
“We need to examine how people are able to deliver apartments in Northern Ireland, which is on this island and only two hours up the road, at a much lower cost. Until we address the issue of apartment viability, we will not be able to be able to meaningfully address the housing crisis. Changing rules to RPZs is not the answer to this.
“The Government’s own expert led Housing Commission Report recommends a system of reference rents and Government must examine how to move to a system of reference rents.
“Government must also agree to implement Labour’s Renters Rights Bill which calls for the introduction of a register of rental properties so that prospective tenants can see exactly what other tenants have paid in rent in the past. This must be done as part of any prospective changes.
“Renters are the most vulnerable people in the housing system in Ireland. They cannot be thrown under the bus in order to satiate investors.”