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HOUSING MINISTER JAMES Browne has moved to temper concerns about Rent Pressure Zones being abolished, stressing that the Government is “not making a decision now” to remove the measure.
Opposition parties have widely criticised the Government over plans to consider proposals to encourage more private developers to build housing and phase out rent pressure zones.
Rent Pressure Zones, designated areas where rent increases are capped, are located in parts of the country where rents are highest and rising and in areas where households have the greatest difficulty securing affordable accommodation.
The Dáil was told today that renters are “bracing themselves” for a rise in rent following Micheál Martin’s previous comments on Rent Pressure Zones.
Speaking at the weekend, Martin said that the Government may look at developing an ‘alternative system’ to Rent Pressure Zones when they expire at the end of this year.
The Taoiseach added that more private investment is needed to boost rental supply as the State is already investing “huge” amounts to subsidise the sector.
Echoing Martin’s comments, recently-appointed housing minister James Browne told RTÉ’s Six One News that “we do have a supply problem” in relation to available rental properties.
“We want to increase supply, that is the best way to get rents under control and even to get rents to start to come back down again,” Browne said.
He added that the Government is not making a decision in the immediate future to get rid of Rent Pressure Zones, but said the “effectiveness” of the zones was currently being reviewed.
The Housing Commission Report completed last year by a group of experts included a number of recommendations to Government. Overall, the report found that a radical overhaul of housing policy was needed in Ireland.
Among its recommendations was for RPZ to be “reviewed” and a system of “reference rents” to be introduced.
Such a system would peg rent increases to a reference rent for local dwellings of similar quality.
Asked directly if the Government wants rent prices to come down, Browne replied that the State wants rents “to be affordable”.
Browne reiterated his beliefs that the private market now needs to become more involved, adding that developers should be encouraged to invest.
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TD/landlords want to bring rents down?wow.
@sam o brien: Almost all houses are built and bought with borrowed money. Magic doesn’t work. It has to be practical not wishful thinking. Left wing illusions don’t work they cause disfunction homelessness and poverty.
@thomas molloy: Housing built by the government or local government directly can borrow at a lower rate than any builder and not require a profit, only to repay the loan over a very long time period. In every practical sense, if borrowed money is the problem, government is the better choice than the private sector.
@Edmund Murphy: yea, the OPW covers itself in glory daily………
State organisations are not exactly known for being efficient, or at most times even competent
Let the free market reign, yeeeeeeeeeee
Haaaaaaaw….
The removal of rent controls could only possibly serve to increase supply IF there’s a supply currently being held back due to low prices – prices are NOT low so any held- back supply is minimal. Also, even if there is a held back supply, it’s nowhere near enough to meet demand so prices are going to increase even further. Typical fffg landlords looking after themselves. The only solution is to build more homes which they have consistently failed to do while lying about what they’ve done.
@Social Guy: An immediate pause in landlords selling and lenders feeling it’s safe to lend and builders regaining confidence to build would have an immediate effect.
Over 88,000 residential units were built in Ireland in 2006. That output could be achieved again in a flash if the conditions were right. The Residential Tenancy Act provides no rights to the property owners and as a consequence there has been an exodus of small landlords. It should be completely overhauled and made fair and expedient. Soft costs in construction now make up 51% of the price of building a house. Soft costs are levies, Vat, planning contributions, fees, etc (ie it excludes labour house building costs and materials) now make up 51% of the construction of a house). That’s an absolute farce.
@Doberman: lots of those properties are substandard
It’s pretty simple. Either this government has the balls to admit that they screwed up and caused the housing crisis by introducing rent control or not. There’s no point saying that the rent control policies are “under review.” That doesn’t change anything. The fact of the matter is 98% of economists agree that rent control doesn’t work and whenever it’s imposed, the supply of rental housing declines. Profits are what persuade construction companies to build houses and apartments. When profits are high, builders enter the market and build. That’s what creates more housing and lowers rents due to competition. If there is no profit incentive, landlords flee the market and look elsewhere for prosperity. That’s exactly what’s happening in Ireland right now with our chronic rental shortage.
@William Jennings: Despite the fact that landlords haven’t left the market, they’ve actually increased.
@Brian D’Arcy: That’s a very misleading comment. The title of “landlord” can be applied to anyone who owns property that isn’t their primary residence, but that doesn’t automatically mean they are actively renting it out. The reported 5% increase in “landlords” you’re likely referencing is not reflective of an increase in rental supply. It simply means there are more people who technically own rental property, but the number of actual rental units available might not have increased at all and might even have decreased. This distinction is crucial. Many property owners are waiting for better market conditions and are not renting out because high property taxes, strict zoning laws or restrictive regulations like rent control that make renting out a property financially unviable.
@William Jennings: the term “landlord” EXPLICITLY means someone renting/leasing out a property: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landlord
(Excepting the pub landlord definition which is not relevant).
Try commenting on a subject you know anything about. That should keep you quiet for a while.
@William Jennings: they haven’t screwed up by imposing rent control – they’ve screwed up by failing to meet their own (very conservative) targets – and lying about meeting (and exceeding) those targets.
@William Jennings: So, many landlords are not renting because……. Then sell them to people who want to be owner occupiers, and don’t be greedily hoarding. The problem is not that there are not enough rental properties. The problem is that there are not properties. There are too many rental properties. Plenty of info out there that show the majority of tenants want to buy, rather than paying someone else mortgage.
@Social Guy: Incorrect information from you. Baseline dictionary definitions don’t reflect the reality of the actual nuances of the data around what constitutes someone being a landlord. Calling yourself a “landlord” doesn’t automatically mean you’re actively participating in the rental market. Just because someone owns property that they don’t actively live in doesn’t mean they’re contributing to the rental market or that their actions have any impact on the supply of available housing. If own a taxi but I’m choosing not to drive around Dublin offering my services, that’s not going to be reflected in the statistics surrounding how many taxi drivers there are in Dublin. You clearly have no clue what you’re talking about so please pipe down if you have nothing productive to say.
@Eugene Burns: If you read what I wrote above, you would know that I pointed out the problem of supply and demand in the housing sector also come into play. It’s clear that there are serious problems when it comes to the actual number of physical houses being built and I agree with you. The number of houses that were constructed last year went down by 7% and the government missed their targets by 10,000 homes. Both issues go hand in hand. Plenty of people I’m sure want to buy their first home, but there’s steps to every ladder and scrapping rent control will have a positive knock-on effective. It will signal to builders that Ireland is an attractive place to construct properties. If you no longer have policies that attack builders, overall house numbers will go up, including non-rental.
@Brian D’Arcy: Landlords HAVE left, that’s the whole point!
@Brian D’Arcy: have you tried finding a place to live recently? There is a difference between properties being officially registered , driven ( very cleverly) by a €500 rebate and more properties on the market
The Journal is getting great mileage out of this issue!
Government interference in free markets never works – it happens time and time again and the naive numpty’s never learn.
but but but they said banning AirBnB will fix the housing issue!
the sheeple believed them and not they got no AirBnB, astronomical hotel prices and not a dent in the housing market.
you get what you vote for ;)
Zonal pressure doesnt work need to man mark, the gov needs a bigger squad its missing about 4 million players.
have your say