Escalating rents are no longer a Dublin-only problem, and the Government must act immediately to address this nationwide challenge. That’s according to Threshold, the national housing charity, which was commenting today (17.11.14) in response to the latest report from the property website, Daft.ie.
“The report highlights how rents are now rising in every county in Ireland,” said Bob Jordan, Chief Executive of Threshold. “Political and policy commentators have been attempting to characterise spiralling rent increases as a Dublin-only problem, but this is – in fact – a nationwide issue. Across the country, rents have risen by over 11 per cent in the past year, and no county has been left unaffected.
“The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, has stated that she does not wish to increase Rent Supplement limits, as doing so would lead to increases in rent. However, the report published today clearly shows that this policy isn’t working: rents are rising exponentially anyway, and families are suffering as a result, with many being placed at risk of homelessness.
“As an immediate priority, the Government must increase Rent Supplement limits to ensure the most vulnerable families are not forced out of their homes because of rising rents. In the longer term, we need rent certainty – the 20 per cent of the Irish population who rent their homes need to know they won’t face rent increases so large that they are placed at risk of homelessness. The only sustainable way to tackle this problem is to introduce a system of rent regulation.”
Senator Aideen Hayden, Chairperson of Threshold, said: “The crux of this issue is there is a housing shortage. We simply do not have enough quality homes in this country to meet our population’s housing needs.
“There has always been a shortage of affordable rented housing for single people, in particular. But, now, families are also struggling to find suitable accommodation. While construction and redevelopment of existing housing stock will meet such families’ needs in the longer-term, we need more immediate solutions to halt escalating rents and ensure no more families are forced from their homes. Rent regulation is the obvious way to tackle this issue.”
