Renters on the rack: Pressed tenants lift the lid on stress and greed

Difficulties encountered by those renting homes countrywide are nothing new but latest testimonies from Irish Times readers illustrate just how embedded they have become, with little sign of imminent change.

A report this week showed market rents have risen by 38 per cent over the past five years, and more than doubled in a decade, while rents for those who have stayed put are, on average, just 10 per cent higher now and about 40 per cent up on a decade ago.

In its latest quarterly report, daft.ie said there were just 851 homes available to rent nationally on its website as of May 1st last, the lowest number since its series began in 2006.

The Irish Times asked renters to share their stories with us. Here are some of the responses.

Arrears top list of rental rows in 2020, says tenancies board

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Inspections of State-aided privately owned tenancies fall sharply

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UCD students to protest against campus rent increases

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Wide disparity in inspections of private rented housing

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Co Dublin resident

The rent system is totally broken. A couple and I are renting a “room” that was originally a living room. There are six of us in the house. It is not even registered by the landlord whose family own at least three houses. They do not even want to fix anything – if something is not working they want us to pay to fix it. Also, they increase the rent whenever they want; in 10 months our rent increased twice and the rent of the other tenants too because they say rents move with the prices of real estate. Nobody has any proof of residence-like bills.

Former Dublin resident

Before the lockdown I was renting a small one-bed flat outside Dublin and commuting every day. The initial rent when I moved in about eight years ago was €650. It was the average price for a one-bed and was just affordable on my wages at the time. The place was a bit shabby but I was okay with it. About three or four years ago I got a mail from my landlord saying if I didn’t agree to an increase to €900 they would sell the apartment. I couldn’t find anything else and I agreed to the increase but said they would have to upgrade the heating and other essential repairs.

Last summer, three years later, they installed the heating but never did any of the repairs. Last year I was desperate; I’d spent the lockdowns in this tiny space. The place was falling apart. They wouldn’t do repairs and I was worried about pushing them because they could take it as an opportunity to increase the rent again.

There was nowhere to move to unless I wanted a massive hike in rent. I now live in the centre of a large German city in a huge apartment for the same rent I paid in Ireland. I have a far better standard of living. It was the only solution I could see.

Co Dublin

I am man in my 40s forced to live with five other people as both rent and property prices are so high. Everyone in the house is working. None of us can afford to live on our own and we are forced to live like this. Our average age is 35. I have over €200,000 saved but still, with mortgage approval for €200,000, I can’t buy a place in relatively nice neighbourhood in Dublin for less than €400,000.

There was a recent example of a Dublin 8 property which had an asking price of €420,000 but sold for €550,000. We should be banning all foreign investment in property until the domestic market has been stabilised. I have voted Fine Gael/Green Party my whole life but in the next election I will vote Sinn Féin, purely based on the failure of repeated governments to manage the housing crisis.

Dublin 8

We have been renting the same home for five years and gone from one kid to three. We would love to move somewhere with a garden but it’s the Hunger Games out there. Because of the stories we have heard from friends who have struggled to get anywhere half decent, we just accept our situation and will continue to save our socks off. But if there is no housing crash I’m not sure if our own place will happen.

Co Dublin

My rent hasn’t gone up in four years but that day is coming. Because of the time, the Residential Tenancies Board calculator confirms it would go up 4.7 per cent. If mortgages went up 2 per cent annually there would be riots. No Part 4 (fixed term) tenancy should be subject to any rent increase. It works both ways – for surety landlords know what they have coming in for six years and tenants know what to budget for.

Long-term leases are needed, with major tax breaks for the landlords, and some clever financial device that allows tenants to buy their rentals. There is a problem that no one can afford to buy property to be the next generation of private landlords and build-to-lets are pervasively overtaking. My rent is equal to a €500,000, 25-year mortgage but the borrowing rules would only give me €225,000.

Co Dublin

I am 24 and my partner is 27. We pay €1,600 a month on rent. Trying to save for a mortgage is near impossible and it is so hard to plan for a future that looks so bleak. We would move back home to Sligo but even there rent prices are high and saving would again be near impossible. Government needs to put a cap on rents. Think of the futures of young people; how will they ever own a home with prices like this? Something needs to be done.

Co Kilkenny

I currently pay €850 rent a month for a one-bedroom apartment. At the time I got it it seemed expensive but it’s very reasonable in the current market. I worry that, one day, I will have to move out to start a family and there is so little available to rent or purchase. Even if I could afford either option.

This housing situation is dreadful. A person’s home is so important and the foundation for a normal life. The Government don’t realise that most people are only a phone call away from a drastic rental increase or eviction.

Renters need more security and protection.

Dublin 4

I have lived in my small flat for a decade. It has no heating or laundry facilities, but I took it because it is in a lovely area, was affordable, and near work. My rent has increased by €600 incrementally (and often illegally) over the past decade, but my flat remains as it was when I moved in. I earn a modest salary and I’m struggling to meet the new increases.

I have been a model tenant, but my landlord is not a model landlord. It is a rent-pressure zone but he does not adhere to that because he understands how difficult it is for people to find comparable accommodation. I think the system is affecting people’s mental health. I have no issue with renting all my life, but we need a more equitable system.