Focus Ireland Advocacy Manager Roughan MacNamara said: “The findings of the DAFT.ie report clearly show the Rent Pressure Zones are not working. Rents nationwide have now reached an all-time record of an average of €1131 as national rents are now 10% higher than 2008 rents. While the Rent Pressure Zones have helped curtail rent increases for some sitting tenants the legislation to control rents between tenancies is still far too easy for landlords to ignore.”

He explained: “There is no monitoring to check if landlords are abiding by the 4% rent increase cap when one tenant leaves and a new tenant signs a new lease. It seems these rules are being widely ignored.”

Focus Ireland has called for effective penalties to be put in place to punish any landlords that are caught breaking the rent cap in a rent pressure zone.

Mr.MacNamara said: “Our frontline staff are still dealing with people who have become homeless from the rental sector as rents have hiked up and they can’t afford them. There needs to be a much wider range of Government actions taken to keep protecting tenants and keep them in their homes.”

Focus Ireland said the Government review of Rebuilding Ireland (to be concluded in 3 months) must include immediate action to ease the rental crisis and also get more vacant homes back into the housing stock.

Mr. MacNamara said: “The review of Rebuilding Ireland is a real chance to improve access to housing by introducing more incentives for people to rent out empty houses and to stop developers hoarding building land by having penalties for those who do so.”

“However, we need firm action on these matters and are not more watered down ‘half-way’ house policies that are hammered out to try and keep all parties happy but end up failing everyone. Any system must work for tenants and landlords alike and the Government must act to take the action required. It is the only way to ease this every worsening crisis and help households to keep a roof over their heads.”

ENDS

Media Contact: 

Roughan MacNamara 086 851 5117