Latest news with #tenancyreforms
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Taoiseach expects rent caps to be extended nationwide by this summer
The Taoiseach has said he expects rent caps to be extended nationwide by this summer. Tánaiste Simon Harris told the Dáil on Thursday that the emergency legislation would be brought forward next week to extend rent caps nationwide. Advertisement Micheál Martin also denied that the government 'flew kites' on its rent control proposals, which he described as 'modest'. He accused opposition politicians of being 'completely over the top' in response to his comments on Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) earlier this year. As part of the government's rent and tenancy reforms announced on Tuesday, rent caps for ares of high demand – caps of 2% or linked to inflation, whichever is lower – will be extended nationwide. This will apply to around a fifth of tenancies not already in an RPZ, including Donegal, Carlow, Cavan and parts of Cork. Advertisement Asked whether this extension would be passed by the summer recess, Mr Martin said he expected it would be done 'very quickly'. He added: 'Yes, I mean, the first part will be extending it nationally and that should happen very quickly, because it's a short bill.' He said the RPZ extension would be included in the Planning bill, which will be done before the summer recess, or in a standalone 'shorter' bill. 'There's no big deal about that, that's not a big issue for us, but it's one we can do fairly quickly.' Advertisement When put to him that he had earlier this year refused to say whether RPZs would be retained, Mr Martin said: 'No, I did not. I did not. 'I said they were being reviewed. The response to what I said was completely exaggerated and over the top and motivated by politics. 'Politicians came up and said in the Dáil in March 'you're getting rid of RPZs'. I never said we were getting rid of RPZs. 'Everybody knew that in October, a review was under way, the Housing Agency was asked to do it. It was commissioned in October last and people just raced away and said 'we're getting rid of RPZs'. We never said we were getting rid of RPZs.' Advertisement He said he told Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats in the Dáil 'repeatedly' that they would not get rid of RPZs. 'It was a great line to put the fear up people. I didn't put the fear up anybody,' he added. He said he expected the opposition to support the rent cap extension and that the 'modest' proposals have been 'broadly' welcomed by the construction industry. He added: 'Many people in the housing would say there's a modest plan, actually, because I think a lot of the opposition didn't see the protections coming with it. Advertisement 'People feel that the combination of the linking of future rents of new apartment buildings or units to CPI (inflation), along with the capacity to reset after six years, the combination of those two should encourage investment, which wasn't coming up to now.' In Leaders' Questions on Thursday, Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty accused the Government of a 'headless chicken approach' to its rent control plans. He said: 'This is a charter for higher rents. This is a charter for the vulture funds and for property developers. It is benefiting landlords, that is the only people who will benefit here.' Mr Harris said the government proposals 'didn't fall from the sky' and accused Mr Doherty of continuing to 'misinform' people. The Fine Gael leader said they were based on the Housing Agency's review, which raised challenges with the suggestion of 'reference rents'. Mr Harris said that RPZs would be extended to Mr Doherty's constituency of Donegal for the first time and asked did he not welcome that. He said Mary Lou McDonald is in favour of rent pressure zones and doesn't want institutional investment in Ireland, while Eoin O Broin is in favour of reference rents and has met institutional firms regularly, with Mr Doherty. 'Sinn Féin are all over the place on housing,' he said.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Government accused of being ‘all over the place' on its rent control plans
The Government has been accused of being 'all over the place' and 'confused' on its rent control plans. Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused the Opposition of confusing the proposals and said he did not accept that they would lead to an increase in evictions and rent costs. Advertisement The new rent proposals include extending a 2 per cent rent cap for areas of high demand nationwide, with an exception for new developments, which can charge rent increases in line with inflation. New tenancy reforms include six-year-minimum tenancies for the first time, to be rolled out from March 1st, 2026, which will ban no-fault evictions for landlords with four or more tenancies. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the proposals were 'a shambles'. I'm heading into Leaders' Questions to challenge Micheál Martin on his plan to hike up rents again and again! Fianna Fáil are fleecing renters and we must fight back! — Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) June 11, 2025 'You are literally all over the place, confused by your own back-of-the-envelope proposal,' she said during Leaders' Questions on Wednesday. Advertisement She said there was 'a very real danger' that the plan will 'tighten' rental supply in the coming months, as landlords could delay putting properties back on the market to charge a higher rent from March next year. Ms McDonald said that the Government was unclear about whether the plan allowed all landlords to set their rents at 'full market' value at the end of the new six-year tenancies. The Sinn Féin leader and other opposition TDs said on Tuesday this would 'jack up' rents either in the coming months or in six years' time, facilitated by government policy. 'This clearly meant people staying in an existing property, signing a new tenancy agreement, along with people moving into a property for the first time. And then, you were caught out. Advertisement 'So throughout the afternoon, you scrambled around denying that this was the case and then sometime in the evening, somebody slipped off and bizarrely changed the press release on the department website with a new wording, a wording that changes nothing.' On Tuesday in the Dáil, Ms McDonald, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit raised concerns about a Department of Housing press release which said that 'all landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy, unless a 'no-fault eviction' occurs.' On Wednesday, Ms McDonald said that this line had been changed on the department's website to include all landlords 'who have entered into a new tenancy arrangement on or after March 1st 2026' will have the right to reset rent at the end of each six-year tenancy. Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused Ms McDonald of 'bluff and bluster' which he said would contribute 'nothing' to Ireland's housing supply. Advertisement 'You're attacking all of this, and you're making absolutely false assertions, because all you are interested in is the politics of this. 'How can I exploit the housing situation to gain electoral or political gain?' Social Democrats' deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan accused the Government of 'contradictory messages' on its rent control plans. He also asked whether they had 'ditched' the rent reset every six years based on comments given to the Dáil. Advertisement 'You've told it all just a few minutes ago that new tenancies after March 2026 will be capped at CPI (Consumer Price Index), no mention of a reset every six years. No mention of that. Is the reset gone every six years? 'Do you accept now they are going to lead to huge rent increases for most renters, and these measures will increase hardship, poverty, evictions and homelessness for renters?' 'No, I don't deputy,' the Taoiseach replied. 'The bottom line is, I repeat again, all existing tenants will not have their rents increase beyond 2% and no attempts by you to sow confusion will change that reality.' A row ensued in the Dail when Mr Martin accused the Social Democrats of not believing there is 'a role for the market' in housing supply, to which Social Democrat TDs objected.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
New rent rules: What will changes mean for you? Send us your questions
The Government has announced major reforms to rent caps and tenancies in a bid to address the rental crisis. As details on the plans continue to emerge, do you have questions on how the moves will impact you and your particular situation? We'd like to hear your queries and our journalists will try to answer some of them. Please leave them in the form below. Here is what the proposals will entail: Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) will be extended across the entire country with increases capped at 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. However landlords of newly-built apartments will be allowed to impose higher rent increases in line with inflation. Landlords will be allowed to reset rents on tenancies , beyond the RPZ cap, every six years or when tenants decide to move out. Tenant protections from so-called 'no-fault evictions' will be increased. It will be years before any increased housing supply brought about by rental market reforms lowers the cost of renting, the Coalition was told The proposals raise several questions. How will all this help renters? Will it ultimately reduce rents? Can I expect a rent rise if I'm in my apartment over six years? Will existing tenants be protected? Will landlords be incentivised to force tenants out to increase rents? And will all this encourage foreign funds to build more properties, and how long before we see change? Please leave your questions using the form below. You can submit anonymously or include contact details if you'd be happy to speak to a journalist about your situation. READ MORE We will curate a selection of questions for a piece but please note we may not answer every submission we receive.
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Nationwide rent controls planned as Government looks at higher landlord fines
The Government has announced a package of rent controls as the Minister for Housing acknowledged that rents in Ireland are 'way too high'. The existing rent controls for areas of high demand will be extended across the country. Advertisement Rent pressure zones (RPZs) were introduced in 2016 to help control spiralling costs for tenants. The RPZ system, due to expire at the end of the year, has in effect been extended nationwide and sees all existing tenancies in Ireland come under a 2 per cent cap or inflation, whichever is lower. Rent increases in new-builds will be capped by inflation and not the 2 per cent cap in order to incentivise the development of apartments. Minister for Housing James Browne said financial investors 'won't even look at Dublin' because of the 2 per cent RPZ cap. Asked whether these proposals would reduce average rent costs in Ireland, Mr Browne said he expected rents 'to fall over time' but would not comment over what time period this would happen. Advertisement 'This is not being presented as a silver bullet. This is to strike a balance, to bring clarity and to bring certainty,' Mr Browne said. On Tuesday, the Cabinet agreed to legislate for Mr Browne's swathe of new rent and tenancy reforms. New tenancies created from March 1st, 2026, onwards will be set at market value and offer a six-year minimum rolling tenancies. At the end of the six-year tenancy, the rent can be reset and 'put back to the market', meaning the first series of rent resets will take place in 2032. Advertisement Large landlords, defined as having four or more tenancies, will be banned from carrying out no-fault evictions for tenancies beginning from March 1st, 2026. Housing Minister James Browne speaking to the media at Government Buildings in Dublin. Photo: PA Images A small landlord can end tenancies via a 'no fault eviction' in limited circumstances, such as economic hardship or to move a family member in, but if they do that, they cannot reset the rent. 'If there is a dispute between a landlord and a tenant on what the market value is, they can go to the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) for adjudication,' Mr Browne said. 'A tenancy of minimum duration of six years is a real leap forward for tenant protections in return for allowing landlords to reset rent.' Advertisement The Department of Housing said all landlords can end a tenancy where there is a breach of tenant obligations or where the dwelling is no longer suited to the tenants. The department also said that all landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy, unless a 'no-fault eviction' occurs. 'Resetting of rents will not be allowed following a no-fault eviction. Rent resetting will only be allowed where a tenant leaves a tenancy of their own volition or has breached their tenant obligations,' Mr Browne said. 'Resetting of rents will not be allowed during any tenancy created on or before 28 February 2026 due to the uncertainties it would cause for tenants with existing tenancies.' Advertisement Asked about who would police whether the ban on resetting rents except in the case of no-fault evictions is being adhered to, Mr Browne said it would be the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). 'I would hope that people will report landlords who are breaking the law in this respect,' he said. He said he was engaging with the Attorney General on what level of fines can be imposed on landlords for breaking eviction rules. Ireland Rent pressure zones: What are they and why are the... Read More He said they should be 'higher' and 'substantial' but there are limits in increasing fines before it crosses into the jurisdiction of the courts. He said he would also 'like to see' a rents register that would bring transparency to what a property had charged in rent previously. 'Our rents are way too high in this country, we know that. We know the only way to address that is increasing supply, so we have more competition, and then you will start to see rents go down.'
