Opposition parties have said new rent rules due at the start of March will drive costs higher for tenants and refused to sign off on a housing committee report examining the Government’s plans.
Opposition housing spokesmen for Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit dissented from the housing committee’s report scrutinising draft laws reforming the rental sector.
In a minority report published on Wednesday, the group said it was concerned that evidence presented during committee hearings on the legislation would lead to “dramatic increases in rents for private renters and student renters”.
They also argued that protections offered under the Rent Pressure Zone regime, which had restricted rent increases for more than a decade but which is now being substantially reformed, would be effectively ended in the coming years.
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Last June, the Government approved a series of changes for new tenancies created after March 1st this year, which it said would improve security of tenure for tenants while also encouraging more private investment into the rental market. This, the Coalition says, will ultimately increase supply in the sector.
The changes allow for rents to be reset to a market level after a tenant leaves a property, a change from previous rules, which capped rent increases even when a new tenant signed a lease.
The minority report argues that rules designed to improve security of tenure, which also vary depending on how many properties their landlord owns, will make the new rules “difficult to understand and near impossible to enforce”.
The Opposition figures also argue that the new legislation essentially removes rent controls and will not lower the cost to renters, while leaving those who frequently move between rental properties exposed to more increases. They say that the substantial amendments they sought were not included in the majority report completed by the housing committee.
The full legislation enabling the changes has not yet been published, but is expected soon if the Government is to complete the legislative process in time for the new system coming into effect. However, Opposition parties warned against rushing the laws through the Oireachtas to enact them in time, saying they would fight any attempt to “ram” it through “tooth and nail”.
Comment has been sought on the minority report from Minister for Housing James Browne.
