Renters could be in line for tax credit in Budget

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien said: “I take the rights of tenants very, very seriously as minister.”

Renters could get immediate financial relief in the form of a tax credit under plans to be discussed ahead of the Budget to help ease the burden of soaring rents.

It’s understood a financial measure is the preferred option rather than a new scheme and a tax credit is “something that could be implemented relatively quickly,” according to Government sources.

It comes as a report by Threshold, a national housing charity, revealed one third of renters in Ireland are spending 50% or more of their net income on rent.

The Budget will also likely see a financial incentive to entice landlords to continue to rent out their properties to help with the supply crisis.

Sources have said there “has to be a corresponding measure” for landlords if the Government moves to ease the burden for tenants.

Housing officials have yet to outline their budgetary wishes to Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath or Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe.

However, it is understood Mr O’Brien will be “pushing for renters” and one suggestion is that a tax credit would be an easy thing to implement and will “impact people’s pockets quickly.”

Speaking today, Mr O’Brien said he is “acutely aware” of the pressures facing tenants across the country.

He said: “Certainly we'll be looking at options in that space where we can help in any way.

“I'm not going to speculate on the measures within the Budget right now. I think you'll appreciate that's a matter for me to deal with alongside Government colleagues.

“But suffice to say that we're working through options that I am discussing with Government colleagues.

“We're obviously in the phase right now where proposals are being looked at.

“They’re [renters] a very important group of people that I would like to be able to help but that is obviously based on discussions that we're having and we'll have over the coming weeks to see what we can do to help.”

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Mr O’Brien was speaking at the launch of Threshold’s 'Own Your Rights' campaign which is designed to raise awareness of how they can provide tenants with immediate and urgent assistance if required.

Their latest research of 500 renters aged 18 to 55+ painted “a picture of a dysfunctional private rental market". Some of the main findings included:

• Almost half (47%) of all renters have had a landlord withhold their security deposit unfairly - up 20% since last year.
• Three in every four renters (74%) say it is common to have problems with mould or damp in their rental properties - up from 57% last year.
• While 27% of renters have experienced an unfair eviction - up from only 10% last year.

Chief executive of Threshold, John-Mark McCafferty, said the charity is asking the Government to consider an arrears fund to deal with the cost of living crisis and increasing energy bills.

Mr O’Brien was speaking alongside Mr McCafferty and was asked if he was embarrassed to be highlighting the rights of tenants given the recent controversy with Fianna Fáil ministers Robert Troy and Stephen Donnelly.

He said: “I think that's been dealt with extensively over the last couple of weeks and I've made public comments on it.

“I take the rights of tenants very, very seriously as minister.”