Focus Ireland welcomes assurances on homelessness and new Rent Pressure Zone regulation but warns that a range of concerns still exist
Focus Ireland has welcomed new assurances from the Department of Housing about measures to reduce the risk of homelessness in the new Rent Regulation measures agreed by Cabinet today.
In particular, the housing and homeless charity said it was positive that the Minister for Housing, James Browne, has committed to a review of the level of Housing Assistance Payments.
Focus Ireland Director of Advocacy Mike Allen said: “We have been extremely concerned that this reform of RPZ’s leaves low-income households at significant risk of losing their home as they cannot afford the rising rents. For several years, the Government has been regulating rent levels but has taken no interest in the impact of rent increases on the almost 70,000 households that rely on HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) to sustain their home.”
He added: “ Over the last ten years, HAP levels have fallen well behind rent levels, pushing families into poverty, debt and at serious risk of homelessness. The new Government plan for rent regulation will serve to drive up homelessness if it does not address its responsibilities to the tenants.”
“While there are no specific proposals to address this issue in the Rent Regulation proposals, the fact that the Minister is in favour of such a review is both welcome and important. It is crucial that this review gets Cabinet approval and is undertaken quickly so that it can be implemented along with the new rent controls in March next year. “
Focus Ireland also welcomed the move to introduce new tenancies in which there will be no ‘no fault evictions’ for the first 6 years.
Mr. Allen said: “Focus Ireland has been calling for such changes for over a decade and has been repeatedly told they were ‘unconstitutional’. While we would favour more extensive measures, this is a very welcome step in the right direction, reflecting the fact that for many, many people their rental accommodation is their long-term home.”
Meanwhile, Focus Ireland said that in the long term, the new regulations will create an even more complex private rental market in Ireland, with tenants’ rights being very dependent on the circumstances of their landlord and when the property was built.
Mr. Allen concluded: “The fact that at certain points landlords can ‘reset’ rents that have been constrained to 2 % increases to ‘market rents’ creates a clear risk in future which could drive up overall rent levels and put people at serious risk of homelessness. These concerns need to be addressed in the context of the Government’s wider housing and homelessness policy currently under preparation.”
Media contact: Roughan Mac Namara – 0868515117