Renters face €1k water charge deposits

Landlords will hit renters with a €1,000 "water charge deposit" in addition to the existing rent deposit on a new home if they are forced to act as Irish Water’s "collection agents".

Anti-water charges campaigners say the Irish Property Owners Association’s claim — which will affect 458,000 households, many of whom have been priced out of the property market — is another example of why Irish Water is unworkable.

In a statement last night, the landlords’ group said that, despite Government claims that property owners could take unpaid water charge fees out of a tenant’s rent deposit, existing legislation prevents this. The association stressed this would be “a blatant contravention of tenancy and letting agreements which legally specify that deposit retention can only be for rent arrears of damage” to a building.