- 91% found it difficult or extremely difficult to find rental accommodation
- 19% are paying more than 50% of their take-home pay on rent
Only 15% of tenants living in Ireland’s private rented sector are renting by choice, according to national housing charity Threshold’s Tenant Sentiment Survey 2020. The remaining 85% of respondents to the survey said that they rent because they cannot afford to buy, or cannot access a mortgage or social housing.
The survey was conducted between February and August 2020 and assesses the sentiment and outlook of over 150 tenants in the private rented sector in Ireland.
The vast majority (91%) of tenants reported that they found it difficult or extremely difficult to find rental accommodation. 57% of respondents reported that they are paying more than 30% of their take-home pay on rent; nearly one-fifth (19%) are paying more than 50% of their take-home pay on rent.
Speaking at the launch of the survey findings, Aideen Hayden, Chairperson of Threshold said: “The findings of our latest Tenant Sentiment Survey paint a grim picture of people’s experiences of renting in Ireland, all of which need to be addressed by our policymakers. We are particularly concerned about the far-reaching consequences of carrying a rental burden into old age – in the absence of adequate social housing provision, the State will ultimately pay a hefty price in order to support older people’s housing needs by relying on the private rented sector.”
When asked why they had left their previous rented accommodation, 43% of respondents reported that they were forced to leave. 25% said that their previous landlord had issued a notice of termination, either for the purpose of selling the property or for the landlord’s own use.
24% of tenants stated that their rent had been increased in the preceding 12 months; 44% of these had their rent increased by more than 4%, the maximum amount by which rent can be increased in a Rent Pressure Zone, which are now present in more than half of all counties.
Nowhere to call home
70% of respondents said that they have lived in the private rented sector (in one or more properties) for six years or more.
When asked about their current tenure, just one-fifth (20%) of tenants stated that they have lived in their current rented home for six years or more. 41% of tenants reported that they had been living in their current rented home for 12 months or less. Less than half (46%) of respondents said that they felt secure in their current rented home.
Hayden continued: “The survey results show us that almost half of all renters are only in the first year of their current tenancy and almost half were forced to leave their previous tenancy. Moreover, nine in ten renters experienced difficulty in finding a home in the private rented sector. Given these findings, it is unsurprising that people do not want to live in the sector: the lack of security of tenure in the sector is having a real human impact.”
44% of respondents to the survey stated that they wanted to own their own home within the next five years. 32% want to live in social housing; 14% want to be renting in five years’ time, but over half of these want or need to do so with the support of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
53% of tenants said they had encountered issues with standards and repairs in their rented homes. The most common of these were issues with damp and mould, followed by lighting, ventilation and heating.
Covid-19 impact
Almost one-third (31%) of tenants stated that their income had been reduced as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Only 37% of those who lost income applied for rent supplement or HAP to help them pay their rent. 10% of tenants surveyed reported being in rent arrears.
39% of respondents said that they felt less secure in their rented home now, than they had prior to the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions.
“Many of those working in employment sectors such as hospitality and tourism, whose incomes have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, are living in the private rented sector,” said Hayden. “They face an uncertain future as they struggle to pay rents that far exceed the cost of a mortgage.”
Commenting on the report, Professor Niamh Hourigan, Sociologist & Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Mary Immaculate College, Co. Limerick said: “The findings of the Threshold Tenant Sentiment Survey present a bleak picture of renting in the private sector in Ireland during 2020. Despite eviction bans being in place during both lockdown periods, 39% of renters surveyed said they felt less secure in their homes after Covid-19 restrictions being put in place.
“The results also demonstrate that the private sector still offers hugely insecure housing to families and individuals, with a high turnover of tenancies and rents which consume an unsustainable proportion of tenants’ incomes. Most importantly, the survey highlights the complete inadequacy of the private rented sector in providing housing solutions for a large proportion of the Irish population. The pressing need to provide affordable housing schemes for purchasers and social housing built by the State for those who will never be able to afford to buy, has never been more evident. During the 20th century, successive Irish governments – who faced considerable economic challenges – managed to deliver both affordable housing to buy, and social housing to rent. One wonders why the provision of this basic facet of human existence remains beyond the capacities of 21st century Irish governments?”
Tenant Sentiment Survey Report – download
Tenant Sentiment Survey lauch – view recording
Tenant Sentiment Survey lauch – presentation slides
Tenancy at a Crossroads – Analysis of Threshold’s Tenancy Sentiment Survey 2020 by Prof. Niamh Hourigan
– presentation slides
