Plan to lift 2% pressure zones rent cap is a blow to tenants
The Government is planning to remove the 2% rental increase cap in Rent Pressure Zones and allow accommodation costs to increase in line with inflation.
The move is likely to see landlords increase rents to what the market can stand, leaving many renters unable to save for a deposit to buy their own property.
However, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan told RTÉ: 'If we do nothing, the Rent Pressure Zone legislation is going to expire at the end of December this year, so something has to be done and obviously we've also got to stimulate private sector investment because this is an issue that requires decision by Government.'
The new proposals are due before Cabinet tomorrow. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan. Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
He was responding to comments made by Mark McCaffrey of the homelessness charity Threshold who said: 'This [proposal] will push people into homelessness.'
The minister, in response, said: 'I can't comment on the memo that's going to Government. I haven't seen it.
'I would have thought from my knowledge of Cabinet colleagues and what's in the Programme for Government that renters will be central to the decisions that are to be made on this by Government.'
It is understood a range of measures will be agreed by the Government, aimed at giving financially stretched renters a minimum level of occupier security.
The new measures will result in a package for existing renters that will amount to no change if they stay in their current tenancy, it is believed.
However, when a property has a new tenant, a landlord can reset the rent at the current market rate but increases after that would be capped at the existing 2% rate. It is understood a range of measures will be agreed by the Government, aimed at giving financially stretched renters a minimum level of occupier security. Pic: Shutterstock
There will also be protections for new renters under legislation expected in the coming weeks, it is understood. It will provide security of tenure for a minimum of six years and the landlord can then reset the rent to the market rate.
It is being viewed as the ending of no-fault evictions for the first time in the State.
However, Social Democrats' housing spokesman Rory Hearne said: 'Removing the 2% rent cap means throwing 'generation rent' to vulture fund landlords to pay for Government housing failures.
'This Government is caving to corporate landlord lobbyists and choosing to throw renters to the wolves.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
21 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Government to withhold support for motion to end Central Bank facilitation of Israeli war bonds
The Government will not be supporting a cross-party motion demanding the Central Bank end the facilitation of Israeli war bonds and will instead table its own counter motion. Four opposition parties have come together to back the motion and have called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to provide the Government TDs with a free vote when it comes before the Dáil on Wednesday. The Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Labour and People Before Profit-Solidarity have united behind the motion that demands that the Government enact emergency legislation to explicitly force the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds. It also calls on the coalition to advise the bank that "by acting as the enabling cog in Israel's fundraising machine in the European Union it is putting the state at risk of a charge of complicity in genocide". The motion stresses that since October 2023 the bonds have been advertised as war bonds with the slogan 'stand with Israel – Israel is at war'. The website marketing the bonds contains a video by Israeli President Isaac Herzog who lauds 'the crucial role of Israel bonds during this time of conflict and war". Last month, a similar Sinn Féin bill which sought to stop the Central Bank facilitating the sale of Israeli war bonds was defeated after the Government voted against the draft legislation. Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe said the gap between the vote on the Sinn Féin Bill and this motion has given TDs 'time to reflect'. Mr Crowe asked: Is there anyone in Ireland comfortable with the fact that we're facilitating this blood money coming into our country and being spent on weapons that are killing men, women and children? Calling on the Government leaders to allow backbench TDs a vote of conscience, Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney said: 'We have failed as an international community to prevent a genocide from happening so now we have to do everything in our power to make sure that we stop it.' She added: 'We are urging the Government to allow a free vote, a vote of conscience, because we believe that this is something that many TDs will support if given the opportunity. 'And we absolutely urge the Government to support this motion.' Labour TD Duncan Smith said adopting the motion would send a "clear signal" that Ireland is "morally and ethically" against Israel's bombardment of Gaza and that "Irish people do not stand for the selling of Israeli war bonds". Humanitarian aid blockade Meanwhile, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris has made an urgent call to end the blockade and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. "Ireland has consistently called on Israel to lift its blockade and allow unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale into Gaza, in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles," Mr Harris said in a statement. "The UN and humanitarian organisations must be allowed to work independently and do their job. It is a shame on the world and international community that people are starving in Gaza." Praising activists aboard the Madleen, which was blocked by Israeli forces on route to Gaza, Mr Harris said: "The question we should be asking today is not a debate about the merits or not of the flotilla but how it has come to this; that the world is turning a blind eye to starving children in Gaza." Read More Watch: Surveillance footage shows crew on Gaza aid boat putting hands up as Israeli forces seize vessel
Extra.ie
37 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
Rental reform plan will add to homelessness, landlords claim
New plans to reform the rental housing market are unfair and will have a serious negative effect on rentals, according to the Irish Property Owners Association, the body representing the country's landlords. The new two-tier reform, which proposes to lift the cap in rent pressure zones and provide for minimum six-year leases, is being debated in the Dáil tonight and considered by Cabinet tomorrow. The controversial measures are aimed at encouraging landlords to enter the market and increase the number of rental homes, but the Property Owners Association say it will have the opposite effect. Pic: Shutterstock They have urged the Government 'to consider the impact of, in effect, banning short-to-medium term letting of less than six years' and of the implications for owners of large, multiple tenancies who wish to sell the property. They also ask if the new reforms will include exemptions for homeowners going into nursing homes who want to rent their home for less than six years. 'The IPOA is concerned that the Government's proposed reforms are over-complicated and that the proposed 6-year minimum security of tenure will have a serious negative impact on private, non-institutional landlords, and on the rental market. The IPOA fears that the Government may not have fully considered some of the implications and consequences of the proposals,' spokeswoman Mary Conway said. Mary Conway. Pic: Supplied 'The proposed changes are unfair on the individual who – for good reason – wishes to, and needs to, rent out their home for a short period and points to a flaw on the part of the Government thinking which – by going after institutional landlords – has ignored the implications for individual, private landlords. 'We believe that in seeking to address political concerns about the role of institutional landlords (who are predominantly active in the Dublin region), the Government may be punishing individual landlords, particularly the types of landlords who are the drivers of rental supply in provincial towns and rural areas outside of the large cities.' Ms Conway added. Pic: Shutterstock The proposal to lift the cap on rent in rent pressure zones has been heavily criticised by renters and housing charities. Instead of limiting rent increases to 2% a year the rent will now be tied to the rate of inflation, meaning a higher increase in rents. The Government believes lifting the current rent cap will encourage large landlords to enter the Irish market, but critics and opposition politicians say it will lead to more homelessness if the cap is lifted. As a mark of Ireland's dysfunctional rental market, three-bedroom houses and apartments in Tallaght are now renting for a staggering €3,000 monthly.
Irish Daily Mirror
43 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Government set for crunch Rent Pressure Zone talks - here's what we can expect
The Government is facing a turbulent week as it finally looks set to make a decision on the contentious Rent Pressure Zone legislation. As the plan to reform the renter rules is discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday, the opposition has warned of widespread protests to the reforms. Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) legislation was introduced in 2016. It limited the amount by which rents in RPZs could be increased to 2 per cent or the level of inflation, whichever is less. The legislation is due to lapse at the end of this year, with the Programme for Government committing to 'review the effectiveness' of RPZs. Pending Cabinet approval on Tuesday, it is expected that rent caps of 2% will stay in place for existing dwellings. A new six-year tenancy rule will be implemented, along with a restriction on no-fault evictions. After six years, the rent can be increased to match market rates. In a major change, landlords will also be allowed to increase the rents between tenancies. However, the rent cap will not apply to new-build apartments, as part of a Government push to increase the supply of apartments being built. The Irish Mirror understands that additional protections will be put in place for tenants. This will include limiting the situations in which a person can be evicted from a property. For smaller landlords, tenants can be told to leave the property if it is being sold or if family is moving in. However, the Irish Mirror understands that the list of eligible family members could be tightened. For larger landlords, they will be allowed to remove tenants if they break contractual agreements only. People Before Profit's Paul Murphy suggested that the Government's actions will drive rents even higher. He said: 'Rents nationally recently surpassed an average of €2,000 per month for the first time. 'The average rent in Dublin is now €2,500 per month and the rate of increase has accelerated to the highest rate in 20 years'. 'But the government's response to record-high rents is to change the RPZs to enable landlords to drive rents even higher. 'These are the actions of a government that is relentlessly focused on serving the needs of developers and landlords first, last and always. It should also be repeated that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry group TDs in the Dáil include many landlords'. Sinn Féin's housing spokesman, Eoin O Broin, meanwhile, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the Government was 'gaslighting' renters. "When the Taoiseach said yesterday that this was a balanced package to protect renters and encourage investment, he is deliberately misleading the public," Mr Ó Broin said. "He is gaslighting renters, and I'm not even sure he fully understands the extent to which they're putting huge numbers of people, young people, people approaching pension age, at enormous risk with even greater financial hardship, and in many cases, at risk of homelessness.'
