Government to bring forward measures to keep rental demands in line with inflation

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien is seeking to ensure landlords can only increase rent in line with inflation up to a certain point before being capped.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien is to bring forward measures to ensure landlords can only increase rent in line with inflation up to a certain point before being capped.

Mr O'Brien has said measures to deal with the potential of inflation going beyond 4%, which would be higher than the original limit in rent pressure zones, will be rolled out before the end of the year.

In July, Mr O'Brien introduced reforms linking rent increases to inflation in a bid to ensure tenants were not hit with unaffordable rent hikes.

But with inflation rising to 3% by August, the Opposition is now calling on the minister to bring forward urgent changes.

Mr O'Brien told the Dáil that linking rents to inflation has significantly decreased the level of rent increases for 74% of renters.

"I am considering all legal options available to me to ensure effective rent controls," he told the Dáil.

Mr O'Brien added that he is "acutely aware" that the rate of inflation has spiked.

'Intolerable situation'

Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said any delay or lag on addressing the issue would lead to the "intolerable situation" of the cap that has been in place since being higher than in rent pressure zones.

"Rents have risen so high, that a 2%, 3%, 4%, now possibly 5% rental increase isn't sustainable, particularly for renters who have experienced a more than doubling of the cost of renting over the last decade," he said.

Earlier in the day, Mr O'Brien told the Dáil that the Government's Housing for All plan would ensure that "everyone in the State" would have access to quality, affordable housing.

He said that the "squeezed middle" would be able to buy or rent homes and would "get our country back building homes".

Mr O'Brien said the fact that it was cheaper to buy than rent in many cities is an example of "how broken our system is".

'Ideological cul de sac'

He said that Ireland cannot "let one party's perfect be the enemy of the common good" and that there is "an ideological cul de sac" in following the Opposition's plans.

Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O'Callaghan accused the Government of an "attempt to normalise our housing crisis by saying that it is a problem internationally".

Mr Ó Broin said that he has a "sense of deja vú" around Mr O'Brien's statement, saying that previous housing ministers had said the same thing. He said the housing market is "very clearly out of control" due to "decades of bad policy from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil".

Mr Ó Broin said that the plan is not ambitious and represents Ireland being "worse off" in terms of social housing delivery.

Separately, new figures reveal that the Government has only reached 29% of its overall build, lease, and acquisition output target for 2021 to date.

“The delivery of social housing has been badly impacted by the shutdown of construction due to the public health restrictions and overly bureaucratic procurement rules," said Mr Ó Broin.