Latest news with #RentPressureZones
Sunday World
9 hours 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.'
The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Fresh homeless fears as new Gov plan ‘incentivises landlords to evict tenants' & Martin accused of ‘gaslighting renters'
HARD-pressed renters face the risk of homelessness under new Government plans, it has been warned. Under the proposals, rents in newly built 2 New plans will see the rental rates of newly built properties tied to inflation Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 Housing Minister James Browne will bring the new proposal to the Cabinet tomorrow Credit: 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved The plans to restructure Rent Pressure Zones will go to Cabinet tomorrow but they have led to fears tenants will face significant hikes and have increased concerns that renters may end up on the streets. Under the plans, The proposal, which Housing Minister James Browne will bring to the Cabinet, will likely state that there will be no changes for existing renters if they stay in their current tenancy. However if they move, a landlord can reset the rent for the new tenant at the market rate. READ MORE ON HOUSING CRISIS Taoiseach But He said: 'When the Taoiseach said that this was a balanced package to protect renters and encourage investment, he is deliberately misleading the public. 'He is gaslighting renters, and I'm not even sure he fully understands the extent 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 Most read in Irish News Mike Allen, the Director of Advocacy at Focus Ireland, also told how the proposals could place further Allen said: 'They seem to be creating a system which creates incentives for landlords to evict tenants so they can bring in something at higher market rates. Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin reacts to record number of homeless people 'And secondly, they're increasing rents right across the board. What are they doing for low income people on HAP to make sure subsidies there don't force people into deeper debt and eventually into homelessness?' The Irish Property Owners Association said they were concerned that the And they stressed that the proposed six-year minimum security of tenure will have a serious negative impact on private, non-institutional landlords, and on the rental 'CHANGES ARE UNFAIR' Chairperson Mary Conway said: '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
Extra.ie
20 hours ago
- Business
- Extra.ie
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/ 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.'
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Fraught days ahead for Government with planned changes to RPZs
The next few days will be fraught politically. The Government is preparing what it believes is an intricate balancing act between renters' rights and developers' ambitions. The logic underpinning this is that enhancing tenants' rights can be delivered in tandem with less strict rent caps. Therefore, investors will get back to building more homes and ultimately the supply shortage can be eased. The backdrop to this move is record high rents and the growing feeling among many that the social contract has been broken. It all suggests that this will be a hard sell. Opposition parties already believe that renters are being thrown under the bus. It is all part of the long awaited redraw of the Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) where the annual rent hike is capped at 2%. In new buildings that cap will now be scrapped and instead rents will be linked to inflation. The proposal, which Minister for Housing James Browne will bring to Cabinet, will also allow landlords with existing properties to reset rents for new tenants to the market rate. After that they would be subject to the current 2% cap. In exchange tenants will get security of tenure for six years in a move that the Government believes will bring an end to no fault evictions. Questions are already being raised about just how secure current tenants are under these new changes. On the surface, at least they do not appear to be subject to significant change. However, Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin believes the proposals will put tens of thousands of tenants with pre-2022 tenancies at risk. That is because their landlords can evict them for no reason at the end of their six-year tenancy under the law as it stands. That means these landlords would have the right to reset rents to new market levels after these tenants' six-year tenancies come to an end. This is one of many pertinent questions about the changes that will inevitably lead to heated exchanges in the Dáil next Tuesday.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
LDA to purchase private land for private housing projects
The Land Development Agency is on course to purchase more private land and build more private housing projects, following a Cabinet committee on housing in Dublin. The planned change to the LDA's remit flows from ministerial concern at the slow rate of housing output, with completion targets for this year likely to be missed. Among those attending the meeting today, were Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, Housing Minister James Browne and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers. The LDA's existing focus is on social and affordable homes on large sites, but that's now due to be broadened to allow more private homes to be built as well. In addition, the Agency has said it has lined up 32 State owned sites for development, but now it's going to be able to purchase more land from the private sector. In previous meetings of the Cabinet committee on housing, there were discussions on how to speed up the transfer of lands to the LDA from State agencies. During today's meeting, there were also talks on the reform of the government's Housing For All plan, which is due to be published next month. While changes to the Rent Pressure Zones were not on the agenda, a decision on the question could be taken by the Cabinet as early as next Tuesday. Sources close to Tánaiste Simon Harris suggested that a balance had to be struck between protecting renters but also removing roadblocks which limit housing supply. However, Opposition parties are likely to vigorously oppose any changes to either the Rent Pressure Zones or changing the remit of the LDA. The government target for housing completions in 2025 is 41,000. However, only 30,300 were finished last year, and the Housing Minister James Browne told RTE's Prime Time it would be "extremely challenging" to hit the 2025 housing targets. An ESRI prediction for 2025 suggested only in the region of 34,000 homes would be completed, and 37,000 in 2026. The institute warned that "most of the risks weigh on the downside", suggesting those lower targets also might not be met. Homelessness figures hit a record last month with 15,580 living in emergency accommodation, including 4,775 children. That was an 11% increase on April last year, and does not include people sleeping rough, sofa surfing, living in domestic violence refuges or International Protection centres. The cost of renting increased by 3.4% in the first 3 months of 2025, according to The survey suggested that the average open-market rent is now above €2,000 - another first.
