Supply of private rental units set to fall 'significantly'

(Left to right) Paul Murphy of People Before Profit-Solidarity, Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne, Labour TD Marie Sherlock and Sinn Féin's Eoin O Broin launching the Raise the Roof campaign last month. It will be held outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening.

The supply of private rental units is set to fall "significantly", the Housing Agency is to warn TDs on Tuesday.

The Oireachtas Housing Committee is due to host the Housing Agency and Land Development Agency (LDA) on Tuesday, with both agencies expected to highlight the challenges to housebuilding in Ireland.

In his opening statement, CEO of the Housing Agency, Martin Whelan, will tell TDs that a lack of so-called “forward investment deals” will cause a collapse in the supply of new private rental units.

According to Mr Whelan, between 2018 and 2022, institutional investors supported the delivery of 2,000 private rental units each year.

However, this has fallen off in recent years, with the State stepping into the market.

Mr Whelan will also say ongoing capacity constraints within the construction sector are “significant barriers to delivery”.

These constraints include a shortage of zoned, serviced land as well as the current structure of the Irish development and construction sector, Mr Whelan will tells TDs.

Sinn Féin's spokesperson on housing Eoin Ó Broin said an emergency response is needed to address the housing emergency created by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Opposition TDs are calling on the Government to drastically increase investment in public housing to meet social and affordable housing needs.

A motion is to be moved on Tuesday evening during Sinn Féin's private members time and is supported by Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit, and the Green Party.

It identifies five key areas of action that Mr Ó Broin said the housing minister could include and implement immediately as part of his housing plan:

• increase and accelerate delivery of social and affordable homes;
• protect private renters through freezing and cutting rents and no changes to rent pressure zones (RPZs) that would increase rents;
• stronger taxes on vacancy and dereliction and greater use of compulsory purchase orders;
• restore and increase funding for homeless prevention schemes such as tenant in situ and Housing First;
• an emergency response to rising homelessness including re-introducing ban on no-fault evictions.

Labour's Conor Sheehan said the Government's attempt to incentivise institutional investors will not guarantee housing supply and any supply that is delivered will be completely unaffordable.

The plans announced last week are confusing, incoherent and ever-changing, he said.

In the days since the Government announced plans to reform rent controls, Mr Sheehan said he has witnessed "hundreds of landlords around the country" posting on websites saying they would immediately be hiking their rents.

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The housing minister also came under fire following the withdrawal of funding from local authorities for 500 social housing units in recent weeks with Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman citing it as an example of the Government's panic.

"The Government has been in absolute panic mode about housing ever since it became clear that it would not meet its housing targets," said Mr O'Gorman.

A Raise the Roof protest is set to be held outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening to coincide with the motion being debated in the Dáil. It is set to be the first in a number of demonstrations to be held around the country in the coming weeks with another planned for Cork City this Saturday.