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A GROUP REPRESENTING landlords has said introducing rent control or certainty is not the answer to the housing crisis and has suggested bringing back bedsits as one solution.
The Irish Property Owners’ Association (IPOA) said that State intervention in the private rental sector is what has caused the current supply problems. They said the restriction to mortgage interest relief, and the household and property taxes have resulted in significant losses for landlords.
At the weekend, Minister of Environment Alan Kelly announced plans to tackle the problem of excessively high rents over the next three to four years. He supported a motion to freeze rents in the private sector for the next two years at the Labour party conference but insisted he would not be introducing rent controls in proposals to tackle the crisis.
“I am not talking about rent controls. It’s a different model, this is rent certainty… What we’re looking at is a process whereby people can have some certainty as regards rent into the future while [housing] supply is being dealt with.”
This isn’t going to fix the problem, according to landlords who say the government needs to encourage supply, not restrict it.
They met with the minister last week and suggested a number of alternatives including allowing bedsits to re-open with designated bathrooms for each unit, not necessarily within the unit. New regulations in 2013 effectively banned shared bathrooms and landlord-controlled heating on rented properties, signalling the death of the bedsit as a concept.
Other options the IPOA suggested were:
According to a recent report, 71% of landlords have insufficient income to pay their mortgage from the rental property and over 38,000 buy-to-lets are in arrears with the banks.
Today, Chairman of the IPOA Stephen Faughan said “rent certainty is not the answer, supply certainty is the answer, increasing supply is essential, and fair tax treatment is the only solution, the root of the problem needs to be addressed or the exodus of landlords from the sector will continue and both tenants and landlord will suffer”.
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38000 buy-to-lets in arrears… How about repossessing them, and putting them back on the market so people who want to buy might actually able to instead of paying extortionate rent to cover unsustainable mortgages
Well said Ben. Buy-to-lets that are not preforming are failed businesses. They should be mercilessly repossessed and put back on the market. I don’t see why I, you or anyone one else should be subsiding this (which we are thru banking fees)
What do you mean put them back on the market – they are on the market and they’re occuppied
Spelling it out for Gerry.
They should be taken from these failed business people and placed ‘for sale’ to those that can actually service their loans.
Me & Ben & everyone else are subsidizing these failed business people through higher bank fees and rent subsidize to landlords etc.
How in the name of sanity would selling those properties help the rental market Ivan?
Maybe you can spell out for me how taking 38000 properties off an oversubscribed market wouldn’t actually make it worse.
If you want to take that approach you should realise that the banks wrote down those properties 5 years ago and they now stand on their books at less than half of their original value. Since prices have increased over the past 2 years, the banks are now in profit on those properties.
Most of the buy to lets are performing on interest only but will not repay their capital. But the banks are happy to sit on an increasing asset for the moment.
And do what with the 38000 (minimum) tenants?
38000 properties for sale = reduction in asking prices.
38000 properties for sold = x% new rental properties + y% family homes purchased.
y% family homes purchased = z% reduction in rent allowance.
z% reduction in rent allowance = more money for other nurses etc.
Reduction in asking prices = more affordable mortgages = more disposable income = better all round.
We support delinquent landlords at the expense of everyone else.
My 2 cent.
“Buy-to-let” is another red rag to wave at the populist bull – “Look! Here are bad greedy people – strike them down!”
But in fact, a lot of people who bought an apartment to rent it out were investing in the hope of replacing an unaffordable pension. It looked like a sensible investment when house prices were soaring – at least, like an affordable investment which would pay for itself gradually and then provide a small, cosy income in exchange for renting someone a nice place to live.
Sure, a lot of landlords are greedy and ruthless, but not every “buy-to-let” was a matter of greed.
Of course they’d argue against Rent Certainty. But the thing is, if they actually put the money into their properties to make them of living standards, that would be a completely different story. The majority of properties out there are damp, mould infested, and you can be 100% guaranteed, they wouldn’t dream of living in the properties themselves. And don’t even get me started on Landlords and their opinions of people on Social Welfare… People in this country have lost touch and humanity, especially Landlords. Bringing back those sandpits that are bedsits is not the answer.
Buddy of mine had a nice wee bedsit that he was quite happy with before it got yanked out from the under him.
He’s a grown adult, he doesn’t need you or the government deciding what’s fit to live in. He’s more than capable of deciding that for himself.
The problem is, a lot of them aren’t nice and that’s why they were taken out of circulation. When they’re charging €900 a month now for a bedsit, that’s when you need to control what’s happening in the private rental sector. I didn’t say your friends bedsit was unlivable, but the majority of them and properties out there, unfortunately are. Landlords are charging what they like and discriminating against those who can’t afford €900 for one room and a bathroom.
Then that’s up to people to decide for themselves.
It happen to an old work colleague of mine too. He was gutted. But I still think bedsits are not the answer, we need a higher quality of rental property. One would/could not use the ‘freedom of choice’ argument for most bedsits. Which are in the most, de-humanising awful places to live.
If you restrict the money that can be made renting less money will be invested in rentals. People will also be less likely to rent property out too.
Primary cause of damp in property is caused by lifestyle. Intermittent heating, drying clothes inside, keep windows closed all the time etc. ..
if that’s the case, then we should expect that because we’ve never had any rent controls and there’s been no restriction on what landlords can charge except the whims of the market, that they then would have invested in the upkeep of their properties which clearly is not the case. It’s ridiculous also to suggest that it’s the tenants’ lifestyle that causes dampness, given that heating is inadequate in much of rented properties, buildings are poorly insulated so heating is more expensive and in any case, in houses of bedsits, there aren’t any washing facilities and tenants have to use laundrettes.
@conor
You clearly are out of touch with rental regulations. All places must have cloth wash and drying facilities. Bedsit no longer exist to be rented legally. If places don’t comply you can simply ring the PRTB and arrange an inspection.
I can assure you tenants cause most damp problems. Include in my leases if caught drying clothes in the property any and all mould issues will be at tenants cost. Rented property for decades without problem then a new tenant moves in and suddenly a damp problem. The tenants are the cause with 2 clothes horses drying inside.
I went to the expense of insulating all my property 5 years ago and they are B grade better than most new builds. Damp is not caused by lack of insulation moisture is the cause. Remove the moisture no damp.
Tenants aren’t 100% responsible for damp problems. I was renting a place once and it was completely infested with damp. I was not drying clothes inside the house and my bedroom was completely black with damp. This was in no way my responsibility and this I what I mean about landlords not putting effort into their properties. If you’re wanting to make a livelihood out of something, you have to put effort into it on some level. Charging extortionate rates for substandard and unliveable accommodation is absolutely ridiculous. Some legislation should be brought in to protect those from being overcharged in the private rental sector.
If your rental property is below standard report it. No need for new law. Landlords are paying for the inspection through PRTB so use it. I find very hard to believe the majority of rental property is as bad as being said here.
It is completely separate to high rents. Rent is high because supply is tight and it has to be said the removal of bedsits did reduce the number of rental properties. Extra charges did come in and were always going to be passed on to tenants.
I spent 45k on my rentals improving them. If rent gets frozen at any point I will not do it in the future. It won’t happen either way as it would be unconstitutional.
Provide a laundry room as they do in America. It need only be a washing machine and dryer on top, and each bedsit has an allocated day according to shift patterns. The weather will not allow people to be clean and tidy, so facilities are needed and you will all no longer have the damp problem.
I rent a house at present. I am outside Dublin so rent is still cheap. I rent a lovely 4 bedroom house for 450euro per month.
Both my partner and myself are looking for a mortage (it will probably cost us up to 700pm for the mortage)because we have no security renting in Ireland. The 250 per month is worth the security we would have knowing we are not at the mercy of the typical Irish landlord.
I would be happy to rent for 25 years but no landlord would sign a rent agreement for that length.
If we want to create a renting culture in Ireland then 3 or 5 year rent agreements will not work.
There would be no scarcity of housing in Ireland if the government would play it’s proper role in ensuring the citizens had access to decent and affordable housing both rented and bought.
This would involve the construction of the necessary volumes of social housing along with modifying the taxation and legal systems to encourage owner occupier home purchase and strongly discourage property speculation.
Instead the state facilitates the system where housing is treated as a profit center for the rentier elite and assorted vested interests. As long as this continues, we will suffer the consequences as a society as demonstrated in the property bubble, inevitable crash, family home evictions, and the current soaring rack rents and homelessness crisis.
We need more than decent housing.
As said by another commentator above anybody who has rented in Ireland knows the standard of some rented accommodation. The theme is usually damp, mouldy, old fashioned houses that are poorly insulated and not maintained as they should.
If you wish to rent your house then surely it must meet some good standards. At minimum some basic health and safety standards.
Both myself and my partner are lucky we found a very good property to rent but we just don’t feel we have the security we should.
We are both also privileged in this day and age to have good jobs and savings to apply for a mortage but would be very happy to rent if the industry was set up in a way we could feel secure in a long term agreement.
450 a month, you must be living in the middle of no where….
Not the middle of nowhere. I’m about an hour and 15mins from Dublin and have a large town just 10mins away.
It’s a very quiet area which I love. I grew up in the country and love the country way of life.
@ P O Leary
I presume you have a car, as if you wouldn’t have private transport and working in the city, it would probably be an awful commute from where you live.
I don’t work in the city. I work from home but am on the road quite a bit mostly around the Midlands and west.
Landlords are one of the greedy and ripoff merchants in this Country so please flood the markets with apartments and bring in rent controll
Freeze rent for two years? Easy no he doesn’t rent, another bull$hit statement from a bill$hit party. The government don’t care for renters, the majority of ministers are landlords themselves
Sure rents are already back at celtic tiger levels, the horse has bolted
The government have given landlords plenty of notice, put your rents up high within the next few years and THEN we will put “some” controls in
I think something like 60 TDs are landlords, mostly FG and FF of course. Do people seriously think that these greedy b*stards are going to put controls in place when they are ripping off struggling young people as it is. If you are a farmer, publican or landlord you have nothing to fear from this government, meanwhile the rest of are getting pounded into submission. Lets see what Kelly’s proposals are, although I guarantee you there will be no new legislation in place by this time next year, he talks a lot but that’s about it. He’s nothing more than the Varadkar of the Labour party, all talk no action.
Yup, with the election coming, they are trying to show their soft cuddly little underbellies.
But this will amount to nothing, all talk and no action…. just Iike the talking shop that is the ‘low income tribunal’ or what every its called.
if you read their ideologies even from the start of their journey into this business venture i.e. irish politics and the dail (cos thats what it is) you will find that they’re very concerned with issues that effect themselves, vested interests. it effects others too of course, but you won’t find much thats outside their lifestyles. property (if they’re landlords) sport (if they’re active in it), jobs competitiveness (if they’re an employer), if they have never experienced poverty or know of someone close you won’t find them anywhere near or tapped in to helping those outside those lifestyles. Look after their own. We don’t need failed business wasters anymore, we need real people, young, considerate and have zero vested interests. You can hear all the friends of the elected, looking or favours to this day.
and yes, you’re right, many of them TDs and councillors are landlords, i’d say theres a few bondholders too. i think a third of them were Irish! Say no more, just get rid of them.
The property market is broken and there are too many vested interests looking to keep it broken as there is s**teloads of money being made.
Bring back slums but keep the rents crazy?! Yeah right
Nama have alot to answer for. I have had to move twice because nama was taking over the house i was renting and they didnt want to rent it. There is about 15 houses in the section of estate where i am.in there and 7 of of those are nama and empty. Waitin to b sold. Perfectly livable warm decent houses that would prob earn more money for them if they were rented. Its happened to so many people i know, some with kids, nama take over and they have to go. Its not right
Absolutely. We are renting in a NAMA owned apartment complex. Last year NAMA, our ultimate landlord, tried to increase our rent by nearly 35%. And we were already paying quite a lot of money for the apartment. Their greed is just unbelievable and NAMA are definitely skewing the rental market and driving up prices.
I better state that I’m in the renting business first.
Alan Kelly is not the kind of pol I’d ever have faith in as an executive. But this kind of BS would be laughable if it weren’t so serious. He wants to fix rents at the highest they have been in 7 years? Happy days for landlords.
Mind you this is purely an aspiration effort made at a party conference purely for PR reasons, so it’ll never hit the Dail.
The simple truth is that we need more properties and we are not building them. That will take 3 years to resolve – if we start now.
Went looking for a apparent recently for one of my family We looked a one bedroom app in Tallaght the letting agent was boasting this place had it’s one entrance. This so called apartment was a box thrown built on to the side of a house it’s own entrance was a wall knocked out with a gate stuck on the entrance the shack what I would call it was musty and dull they were charging 950 euros a month for this. So yes bring in rent control and letting inspectors Not so long ago residents in the Dublin 24 area were trying to find how many landlords were registered with the authorities this headline went very quiet.
Many years ago when the bedsits were all the go I had a room in Terenure the landlord was selling this house and gave all the tenants a week to agree to vacate two days past that deadline he or someone acting for him came in when I was at work and knocked all of the plasterboard down on my belongings and the bed . This guy was a member of the Garda I just wonder has it changed much since then ?
Another stupid action by this government.
What is?
All landlords are skum
Bit of a generalisation there, Tricky, I rent out an investment apartment to a couple with 2 small kids, reduced their rent when they had to go on rent allowance, bought them dishwasher when they looked for one, but they are great tenants. Keep the place spotless, keep it painted, (we supply materials) I will be sad when they leave but they are actively looking for house with garden for the kids.
If property owners can’t maintain their mortgages they either need to increase their rents if they think the market will bear it or be forced out of the market into bankruptcy. Repossess and sell to the many willing buyers.
Tenants were very happy when rents dropped and charges were increased on landlords. Here is what happens a few years later. Less property to rent and huge increases. Reap what you sow.
Foreseeable and if they freeze rent you will have more of the same.
Not so long ago I was being called a fool for buying a house during the boom and laughed at by renters who claimed a lucky escape. Rather glad I did now cause now one of those fools is now paying my mortgage!
What a miserable pr*ck you are, I pity your family!
Are you renting out rooms in your own house to meet the mortage repayments or did you buy an investment property and they are paying back the mortage on that property. Your comment is unclear.
If you bought during the boom(2003-2007) I assume you have about 15-20 more years to pay back so I would not be so cocky.A lot can happen in 15-20 years…
Some people feel paying intrest on a mortage is dead money as is paying rent for life but it’s just a matter of opinion. But to call somebody an idiot for renting a property is a very silly thing to say.
What an ugly comment to make
In fairness no uglier than what people said to people who bought property. You still get similar on any story about property price rises calling people fools for buying property.
As for interest as dead money only people without a basic understanding of maths could think that. No amount of playing around with the wording and sums will change the ignorance or con.
If you bought before 2007 you can easily pay less than current rent. You may also have a low tracker.
True kal.
I said some people think that.
But the idea of paying rent to provide a home should not be considered dead money.paying to put a roof over your head is not like throwing money down the toilet. It’s money well spent.
Everybody has different reasons for buying or renting and my point was it’s silly to call a person stupid for renting/buying when you do not know there circumstances.
The main reason in my opinion that landlords won’t accept rent allowance is because they would have to be registered landlords before they can receive the go ahead. I’d say most private landlords aren’t registered and don’t pay tax on their rental income and that’s why the resistance is there.
It’s not. Bar rural towns RA is far below market rent. Tenants are not meant to make up the difference. On top of that RA used to be paid to the LL. Now its not. That guaranteed income made RA tenants more attractive.
Every Tenant is a risk but now, a tenant with a job is a safer bet than a RA Tenant who can stop paying rent at their whim.
Most don’t accept RA as it is load of hassle and many see the tenants as more trouble.
That along with them suddenly all asking for a drop in rent when RA was cut. Any experienced LL will not accept RA as it is more trouble. If you ever tried to move a tenant after their RA was cut you would understand it is a simple choice nothing to do with tax or anything else.
it is true also, many are NOT registered with PRTB. you can report them if you wish.
They want to make life better for landlords after the central bank increased the deposit amounts for first time buyers… Someone explain how this isn’t rich people scratching each others backs
course it is, they’re all in it for themselves first, then their friends, then we’re last. not for the people at all.
Rent control lowers the quality and number of housing units available, and shifts any bottleneck from being decided by price alone, to another arbitrary means of selection. It is a populist strategy with no role in economic planning. Additionally, it is self defeating, as the biggest winners are people already in accommodation, reducing their incentive to relocate, thus freeing up units. Huge numbers of examples and case studio illustrate this.
http://marketurbanism.com/2008/05/21/rent-control-part-1-microeconomics-and-hoarding
Of course landlords would like to bring back bedsits..
Money grabbing greedy gombeens..
My landlord has stopped collecting rent last December.. I’m still living in the property but there’s not contact between the individual who owns the building and the tenants,what should I do?!
I’d contact Threshold, they’re the renting authority. Let them know that you have not had contact with your landlord in however many months. That way, if in a few months time your landlord tries to take “legal action”, like evicting you, at least it has been documented.
First thing is put box off the rental payments in another account, send texts/emails to landlord stating wanting to pay. It may simply be the case that s/he is sick, Stopping collecting rent is not a valid method of terminating a lease
thanks for the advice guys!
Threshold are not the rental authority. They are a charity organisation PRTB are the rental authority
Why? So landlords can charge the same price for a room as they do for an apartment? I see they’ve thought that through for their own benefit!
Defensive much?
@ Michael Evans
They abolished bedsit use.
I have a house rented in Dublin. The rent doesn’t cover my mortgage by no means , I still have property tax to pay every month , also the up keep of the house, management fees and also pay tax on the rent which I get . It’s a losing battle . I now live in meath cos it’s too expensive in Dublin and am trying to make up the shortfall. I am currently paying an extra 5000€ a year extra. So putting the rent up by an extra 50€ a month is not air but it helps. I can’t sell it cos im in too much negative equity.
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