IMF: Rent certainty could dampen housing supply

Rent certainty measures introduced by the Government in a compromise move to ease the pressure on tenants could dissuade much-needed construction in the housing market, according to the IMF.

The warning was made in its latest post-bailout report which identified an increase in the supply of homes as one of the country’s most pressing issues as the lack of accommodation becomes more acute in urban areas.

Measures to reduce the cost of building could jump start construction activity, according to the IMF report’s authors.