New rent laws will increase rents and evictions and fail to improve housing conditions for tenants, report says

Last week, the Cabinet formally approved new laws that will allow landlords to reset their rents to market rates every six years.

New rent pressure zone legislation will increase rents and evictions, and fail to improve housing conditions for tenants of corporate landlords, new research has suggested.

Contrary to Government claims that loosening rent controls will invite additional investment and incentivise landlords to upgrade properties, the opposite is likely to occur, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report from Maynooth University and the Community Action Tenants Union found.

Last week, the Cabinet formally approved new laws that will allow landlords to reset their rents to market rates every six years.

The new rules will also allow landlords reset rents to market rates when a renter leaves of their own volition, with the opposition claiming the plan has “shafted” renters.

The Maynooth research, part of the EPA-funded Just Housing project,  said it was widely acknowledged energy efficiency in private rental sector homes was “relatively poor”.

It argued that, based on research from Residential Tenancies Board case files and survey findings from several dozen tenants of corporate landlords, numerous examples of poorly maintained homes have been reported, along with low numbers of A or B energy-rated rental homes.

“The new rent pressure zone legislation will create further opportunities for exploitation by incentivising landlords to find ways to evict tenants in order to increase rents,” report author Dr Fiadh Tubridy said.

“What we actually need is clear, well-enforced legislation to ensure basic minimum standards, such as a minimum energy efficiency rating for rented properties, and proper protections against evictions.”