Government yet again tinkering around the edges of the housing crisis with rent pressure zone plans

The opposition, homeless charities, and the housing industry itself are all critical of housing minister James Browne's proposed reform of rent pressure zones

Housing minister James Browne: The hope is his proposals will overhaul the system in a bid to bring in international investment that will kickstart the building of apartments, particularly in the Dublin area, but it is not looking like a solution at all. File Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

There is no one silver bullet to housing.

The smartest people who know about this industry will continually tell you that there are many, many factors which have to be addressed in order for Ireland's housing market to represent anything one might call functional.

With that in mind, it is important to note that even if James Browne, the housing minister, was somehow able to come up with the most incredible answer for reform of rent pressure zones, it would not have solved the housing crisis overnight.

This is, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said last week, "one of a suite of measures" designed to tackle a crisis which in reality has been ongoing for 20 years. From 100% mortgages and €450,000 starting homes; to a collapse in the market to years of inactivity; to whatever you would call this current omni-mess, the country's housing market has long been dysfunctional.

The hope is Mr Browne's proposals will overhaul the system in a bid to bring in international investment that will kickstart the building of apartments, particularly in the Dublin area, but it is not looking like a solution at all.

The plan, as outlined, would exempt new-build apartments and new tenancies from rent pressure zones, meaning the current increase cap of 2% annually would remain in place for existing tendencies, but landlords would be able to change rents between tenancies, something they are not currently allowed to do.

Newer tenancies would be linked to inflation, it is understood.

To be able to adequately judge whether or not the plans will be a success, it is necessary in the first instance to pinpoint exactly what is hoped to be achieved, and luckily we don't have to go far.

In an interview with this newspaper in February, Mr Martin said the Government should review all housing policies to try and boost housing supply, including whether or not to abolish rent pressure zones.

When those comments were put to him on RTÉ radio, he doubled down.

"It's clear to me from the discussions I've had with various Government departments and officials in respect of the housing question that we need to pivot more strongly to getting private sector investment into the market," Mr Martin said.

Asked if taking difficult decisions on housing included the abolition of rent pressure zones, Mr Martin said he believed it would "entail very difficult political decisions".

But, to many, Mr Browne's proposed solution does not feel like a difficult decision, or a decision at all. By creating a two-tier, or in the argument of Sinn Féin a four-tier, system, Mr Browne's plan leaves nobody overly enthused.

The opposition is critical, as is its wont, with Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin particularly pointing out there is still a cohort of people who can be evicted with no fault, and the Government plan as leaked potentially creates a pitfall for them in incentivising their eviction.

One of the country's leading housing charities, Threshold, was critical. Its chief executive John Mark McCafferty said there was a risk the abolition of RPZs could lead people into financial distress and in the worst cases, homelessness.

The opposition and charities standing against Government policy is not new, and is a factor frequently of politics in a capitalist society; the Government makes a proposal, the opposition accuses it of being mean spirited or heartless and charities advocate for the most vulnerable. 

But this is not just a case of the opposition and advocacy groups standing against Government policy. The housing industry is not sold on it either.

Frank Kenny, founder of one of Ireland's largest private rental sector operators Urbeo, told the Business Post the plan "risks compounding the housing supply deficit", undermining viability and deterring reinvestment. Marian Finnegan of Sherry FitzGerald said it was unlikely to have "any material impact". 

Likewise, Ian Lawlor of Roundtower Capital said a short-term change would not necessarily stimulate the kind of funding required. On the contrary, he suggested, making things more hospitable for new investors could have the impact of making others who are already invested in the system leave.

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All of this while the combined opposition works together on a national housing day of action under the Raise The Roof banner means what is likely on Tuesday is another in an array of measures that feels like tinkering around the edges and not the radical move needed, even if there is no silver bullet.