Latest news with #HousingCommission
Irish Examiner
10 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Rent pressure zones have 'discouraged' the supply of new homes, Dáil committee told
Rent pressure zones are 'not a good system' and have 'discouraged" the supply of new homes, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Members of the Housing Commission — whose landmark report on recommendations to fix Ireland's housing crisis was published over 12 months ago — also told the Oireachtas housing committee on Tuesday there had been a 'lack of emergency thinking and action' since its report came out. The Housing Commission was established in January 2022 as an independent body to examine Ireland's housing system and to make recommendations to shape long-term policy. This commission was made of representatives from across the housing sector, including developers and those delivering housing on the ground, and found Ireland's housing system has 'fundamentally systemic' failures. It made a slew of recommendations for a new approach to the housing sector to meet the needs of the Irish public, estimating there was an underlying undersupply of over a quarter of a million homes in the country. Since its publication, some members have been critical of what it called State inaction on taking up its recommendations. The Government has hit back at this, however, and insisted it was implementing the report. The appearance of Housing Commission members at the Oireachtas committee on Tuesday coincided with the Government publishing its controversial plans to reform the rental sector and its rent pressure zones. UCD professor of social policy Michelle Norris told the committee the commission proposed a 'comprehensive reform' of the system of rent pressure zones that had been 'introduced as an emergency measure in 2016 to regulate private rents and was never intended to be in place over the long term'. 'We propose replacing the RPZs with the reference rent system used to regulate rents in many other European countries," she said. Trinity College's Dr Ronan Lyons said, from the new Government proposals, vacancy de-control seemed to be the most important. This is where landlords would be able to set market rates for a property if a tenant moved out. Meanwhile, Michael O'Flynn, chief executive of the construction firm O'Flynn Group, said during covid-19 there was a highly coordinated approach across Government and they were similarly dealing with a housing 'emergency' now. 'Unfortunately, this approach has not been taken into the housing crisis, and the result is it's getting more and more challenging,' he said. 'The Housing Commission was a very serious attempt to provide a framework for Government to deal with the crisis in a holistic way. "It provided a strategic approach which, if adopted, would over the medium term, deal with the serious backlog of over 300,000 homes.' Read More Government yet again tinkering around the edges of the housing crisis with rent pressure zone plans
Irish Independent
21 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Entire country to be brought under Rent Pressure Zone in major change agreed by Government leaders
In a meeting on Monday night, leaders met and agreed on a new system of national rent control. The current system, which caps yearly rent increases at 2pc or in line with inflation, will be retained for existing tenancies. This 2pc cap would no longer apply to newly built homes, which would instead have a cap linked directly to the rate of inflation. This measure is aimed at increasing the rate of private sector investment in building more rental homes. But significantly, every area of the country will now be designated as an RPZ under the new national rent control system, meaning the remaining one fifth of tenants in Ireland not in an RPZ will benefit from rent controls. Leaders also agreed on stronger security of tenure protections for renters. This, it is understood, will include an end to no fault evictions in the case of large landlords. Landlords are also set to be categorised according to the number of properties they own with smaller landlords to be categorised as those with three or fewer properties. According to proposals going to cabinet, landlords will only be allowed reset rents if the tenant leaves voluntarily. If a landlord serves a tenant a notice to quit, the landlord will not be allowed reset the rent. The move will aim to remove the economic incentive for landlords to evict tenants. The move to expand the RPZs is seemingly one that goes against the recommendations in the report from Housing Commission. ADVERTISEMENT In its report last year, the commission said while the rental market was both challenging for both renter and landlord, the RPZs were constraining landlords. According to the report, it said the impact of RPZs has been mixed and the commission recommended changes to the system. In particular, the report said the RPZ system should be reformed and a new system of 'reference rents' be established instead. This would be landlords would be limited on how much they could increase rent by, and would be based off things like the size of the rental property and where it is located. The commission also said regulations should continue between tenancies. 'If a tenancy ends the same regulations apply to the subsequent tenancy. This will discourage termination of tenancies that is designed to increase rental income,' the report said. As reported in the Sunday Independent, the Government was considering new rules which will allow landlords to significantly hike rents beyond the current caps. Under original the proposals, landlords would be allowed to increase rents to market rates in between tenancies of at least six years. While current tenancies are expected to remain under the RPZ regulations, the cap would not apply to newly built apartments. Currently, rents in a Rent Pressure Zone can only be increased by 2pc or in line with inflation, whichever is lower. First introduced in 2016 to control the rapidly increasing rents in high demand areas like Dublin and Cork, it was a major intervention in the market. Since then, the scheme has steadily spread across the country with most areas now considered an RPZ. Almost ten years after they were first introduced, and with the current regulations are due to expire at the end of this year, it had been anticipated that the current rules around RPZs would change. The Government continues to be under pressure on the issue of housing, wth the rental sector a major focus, as the Opposition has swooped on the issue. Raise the Roof campaign will hold a rally outside Leinster House on Tuesday next week at 6pm, calling for urgent Government action on Ireland's housing and homelessness crisis. The rally is timed to coincide with a Private Members Motion tabled by Opposition parties in the Dáil, and will feature speakers from political parties, alongside a series of singers and spoken word performances. The Raise the Roof campaign group is coordinated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and includes trade unions, housing and homeless agencies, women's groups, human rights advocacy groups, and community organisations. Speaking at a press conference to launch the rally, Ethel Buckley, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary said: 'Ten years into the housing crisis, and that crisis remains the greatest political failure of our time. Workers are being priced out of homes or can only rent or purchase with considerable financial burden. 'In the last 10 years rents and house prices have doubled - and in some areas more than doubled - while wages have increased by less than 40%. If anything, this gap has widened in the last couple of years. Rents and house prices are out of control. 'Alongside the human cost of this, we are seeing the serious knock on effects, with thousands of unfilled vacancies in key sectors, and young people once again choosing to emigrate. 'We are deeply concerned at the lack of urgency shown so far by this new government. A government that is content to play the role of helpless bystander to this ever-worsening emergency. What is needed now is a radical reset with sustained action to deliver secure, affordable housing.'
Sunday World
a day ago
- Business
- Sunday World
Entire country to be brought under Rent Pressure Zone in major change agreed by government
In a meeting tonight, leaders met and agreed on a new system of national rent control Every tenancy in the country is set to be brought under a Rent Pressure Zone, Government leaders have agreed. In a meeting tonight, leaders met and agreed on a new system of national rent control. The current system, which caps yearly rent increases at 2pc or in line with inflation, will be retained. Every area of the country will now be designated as an RPZ under the new national rent control system, meaning the remaining one fifth of tenants in Ireland not in an RPZ will benefit from rent controls. Leaders this evening also agreed on stronger security of tenure protections for renters. This, it is understood, will include an end to no fault evictions in the case of large landlords. The move is one that goes against the recommendations in the report from Housing Commission. In its report last year, the commission said while the rental market was both challenging for both renter and landlord, the RPZs were constraining landlords. According to the report, it said the impact of RPZs has been mixed and the commission recommended changes to the system. In particular, the report said the RPZ system should be reformed and a new system of 'reference rents' be established instead. This would be landlords would be limited on how much they could increase rent by, and would be based off things like the size of the rental property and where it is located. The commission also said regulations should continue between tenancies. 'If a tenancy ends the same regulations apply to the subsequent tenancy. This will discourage termination of tenancies that is designed to increase rental income,' the report said. As reported in the Sunday Independent, the Government was considering new rules which will allow landlords to significantly hike rents beyond the current caps. Under original the proposals, landlords would be allowed to increase rents to market rates in between tenancies of at least six years. While current tenancies are expected to remain under the RPZ regulations, the cap would not apply to newly built apartments. Currently, rents in a Rent Pressure Zone can only be increased by 2pc or in line with inflation, whichever is lower. First introduced in 2016 to control the rapidly increasing rents in high demand areas like Dublin and Cork, it was a major intervention in the market. Rent Pressure Zones were introduced in 2016. Photo: Stock image News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday June 10 Since then, the scheme has steadily spread across the country with most areas now considered an RPZ. Almost ten years after they were first introduced, and with the current regulations are due to expire at the end of this year, it had been anticipated that the current rules around RPZs would change. The Government continues to be under pressure on the issue of housing, wth the rental sector a major focus, as the Opposition has swooped on the issue. Raise the Roof campaign will hold a rally outside Leinster House on Tuesday next week at 6pm, calling for urgent Government action on Ireland's housing and homelessness crisis. The rally is timed to coincide with a Private Members Motion tabled by Opposition parties in the Dáil, and will feature speakers from political parties, alongside a series of singers and spoken word performances. The Raise the Roof campaign group is coordinated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and includes trade unions, housing and homeless agencies, women's groups, human rights advocacy groups, and community organisations. Speaking at a press conference to launch the rally, Ethel Buckley, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary said: 'Ten years into the housing crisis, and that crisis remains the greatest political failure of our time. Workers are being priced out of homes or can only rent or purchase with considerable financial burden. 'In the last 10 years rents and house prices have doubled - and in some areas more than doubled - while wages have increased by less than 40%. If anything, this gap has widened in the last couple of years. Rents and house prices are out of control. 'Alongside the human cost of this, we are seeing the serious knock on effects, with thousands of unfilled vacancies in key sectors, and young people once again choosing to emigrate. 'We are deeply concerned at the lack of urgency shown so far by this new government. A government that is content to play the role of helpless bystander to this ever-worsening emergency. What is needed now is a radical reset with sustained action to deliver secure, affordable housing.'
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Entire country to be brought under Rent Pressure Zone in major change agreed tonight by Government leaders
In a meeting tonight, leaders met and agreed on a new system of national rent control. The current system, which caps yearly rent increases at 2pc or in line with inflation, will be retained. Every area of the country will now be designated as an RPZ under the new national rent control system, meaning the remaining one fifth of tenants in Ireland not in an RPZ will benefit from rent controls. Leaders this evening also agreed on stronger security of tenure protections for renters. This, it is understood, will include an end to no fault evictions in the case of large landlords. The move is one that goes against the recommendations in the report from Housing Commission. In its report last year, the commission said while the rental market was both challenging for both renter and landlord, the RPZs were constraining landlords. According to the report, it said the impact of RPZs has been mixed and the commission recommended changes to the system. In particular, the report said the RPZ system should be reformed and a new system of 'reference rents' be established instead. This would be landlords would be limited on how much they could increase rent by, and would be based off things like the size of the rental property and where it is located. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more The commission also said regulations should continue between tenancies. 'If a tenancy ends the same regulations apply to the subsequent tenancy. This will discourage termination of tenancies that is designed to increase rental income,' the report said. As reported in the Sunday Independent, the Government was considering new rules which will allow landlords to significantly hike rents beyond the current caps. Under original the proposals, landlords would be allowed to increase rents to market rates in between tenancies of at least six years. While current tenancies are expected to remain under the RPZ regulations, the cap would not apply to newly built apartments. Currently, rents in a Rent Pressure Zone can only be increased by 2pc or in line with inflation, whichever is lower. First introduced in 2016 to control the rapidly increasing rents in high demand areas like Dublin and Cork, it was a major intervention in the market. Since then, the scheme has steadily spread across the country with most areas now considered an RPZ. Almost ten years after they were first introduced, and with the current regulations are due to expire at the end of this year, it had been anticipated that the current rules around RPZs would change.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Rental sector changes will encourage landlords to evict tenants, Focus Ireland warns
Proposed changes to the rental sector will incentivise landlords to evict tenants and increase rents, the head of homeless organisation Focus Ireland has warned. Housing minister James Browne will bring his proposals for an overhaul of the Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) system to a meeting of coalition leaders on Monday night and a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday. The moves are part of an overall plan to attract international investment and kickstart the building of apartments, as well as overhaul the RPZ system, which was introduced in 2016 and sharply criticised by last year's report from the Housing Commission. However, issuing a stern warning, Focus Ireland's Mike Allen said the measures will make renters even more vulnerable. "By creating a multi-tier rental system, you're creating an awful lot of complexity, which means that intrinsically, that creates vulnerability for people who are less able to negotiate those difficulties. But you also create incentives for landlords to evict people so they have a vacancy, and then they can re-rent at a higher rent," Mr Allen said. Under the plans, the 2% cap in RPZs will remain in place for existing tenancies, but new tenancies will be more closely linked to the base rate of inflation. Landlords will be able to change or reset rents between tenancies, a change from the current system, which designates whether or not a home is in a rent pressure zone. Mr Allen said this "is a Government policy to increase rents" adding that "the reason they want to increase the rents is so that private investors will get a higher return on their money and will invest". "But it also means that if that's the only way we can provide the housing, it's no way a solution to average workers, let alone low-income people." His comments came as a number of trade unions and organisations came together ahead of a Raise the Roof rally outside Leinster House next week, calling for urgent government action on Ireland's housing and homelessness crisis, with a separate protest being organised in Cork later in the month. The Dublin rally is timed to coincide with a private members motion tabled by opposition parties in the Dáil, and will feature speakers from political parties, alongside a series of singers and spoken word performances, including folk singer Lisa O'Neill, punk singer Meryl Streek, writer and artist Veronica Dyas, folk singers Jimi Cullen and Cork campaigner Martin Leahy. The motion calls for emergency action on the housing and homelessness crisis, including increased investment in public housing, action to protect private renters, and a re-introduction of the ban on no-fault evictions. The Raise the Roof campaign group is co-ordinated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and includes trade unions, housing and homeless agencies, women's groups, human rights advocacy groups, and community organisations. Speaking at a press conference to launch the rally, SIPTU deputy general secretary Ethel Buckley said: 'In the last 10 years, rents and house prices have doubled — and in some areas more than doubled — while wages have increased by less than 40%. If anything, this gap has widened in the last couple of years. Rents and house prices are out of control. 'Alongside the human cost of this, we are seeing the serious knock-on effects, with thousands of unfilled vacancies in key sectors, and young people once again choosing to emigrate. 'We are deeply concerned at the lack of urgency shown so far by this new government. A government that is content to play the role of helpless bystander to this ever-worsening emergency. What is needed now is a radical reset with sustained action to deliver secure, affordable housing.' Read More Government must introduce new support models to take people out of homelessness, charity warns
