Rent changes kick in as REITs celebrate
Rent changes kick in as REITs celebrate - The Labour Party
- REITs celebrate as renters struggle
- Government must introduce emergency rent brake if rents surge
Labour housing spokesperson Deputy Conor Sheehan has warned that Government rent changes coming into effect this Sunday will drive unaffordable increases for tenants while large real estate investment trusts signal rising profits to shareholders. Responding to the Tánaiste’s claim that the measures are “balanced”, Deputy Sheehan said the reality facing renters is very different and called on Government to urgently amend the legislation to introduce a rent brake and an automatic emergency freeze where national rents spike.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“From this Sunday, renters across Ireland face the real prospect of rent increases of up to 25 percent. That is not balanced. It is brutal. People are already stretched to breaking point by record rents, soaring deposits and the daily cost of living. A 25 percent hike on top of already inflated rents is completely unmanageable for ordinary workers, families and young people trying to build a life.
“The Tánaiste has repeatedly denied that rents will rise by 25 percent. Yet this week we saw IRES effectively boast to shareholders about their position, with their stock trading at a 52 week high. While Government ministers attempt to reassure renters that this will somehow be good for them, institutional investors are licking their lips. That tells you everything you need to know about who benefits from these changes.
“Rents have already doubled over the past decade. Tenants pay more than ever for less security. Many hand over half their income just to keep a roof over their heads. To suggest that enabling further sharp increases is somehow a fair or balanced approach amounts to gaslighting renters who know the pressure they are under every single month.
“These changes will reset rents upwards everywhere. Once that reset happens, it sets a new benchmark for the market. That does not help renters. It locks in higher costs for years to come and pushes more people towards financial stress or out of their communities altogether.
“It is not too late for Government to act. Ministers can still amend this legislation. Labour is calling for a rent brake that links rent policy to real world affordability. If national rents rise by 10 percent or more, an automatic emergency rent freeze must come into effect. That would provide a clear, enforceable safeguard for tenants and send a message that the era of runaway rents must end.
“We need a housing system that works for people, not one that fuels returns for large investment funds while workers fall further behind. Government has a choice this week. It can stand over legislation that will drive rents even higher, or it can step in now, introduce a meaningful rent brake and protect renters from increases they simply cannot afford. For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of tenants watching nervously as Sunday approaches, Government must act before catastrophic damage is done.”