Una Mullally: Lack of basic rights creates new rules for renters
The rental crisis has a vice-like grip on people’s disposable income
In the absence of basic rights the rental crisis has created new rules for renters. One of these rules is for renters to pretend they’re invisible. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Nearly 20 per cent of Ireland’s population rents privately, and in Dublin, it’s a quarter of the city’s population. These figures are the highest since records began.
How long will this drum have to be beaten before radical change happens? How loudly do people have to demand things that are basic in other countries such as rent control, long-term leases, quality rental housing, and fair prices? At what point will the cost of a property’s rent be linked to its size per square metre, instead of monthly rent figures seemingly plucked out of thin air by landlords?