Institutional landlords and developers are celebrating the government\u2019s upcoming changes to rental laws which throw renters under the bus to increase corporate profits, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne.<\/p>\n
Deputy Hearne said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIRES Reit, the State\u2019s largest landlord, has said the quiet part out loud: that the government\u2019s new rental rules, which will come into force on Sunday, will lead to a major increase in its rental income.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make these gargantuan profits, rents could rise up to 25% higher than the already outrageous heights they are now at.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should be noted that IRES Reit is not a struggling company. It made a profit of \u20ac50 million last year. The government\u2019s new rental rules will now see those profits exponentially increasing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government claims these rental rules are a much needed reform, but have notably not denied that these changes will cause rents to rise. In fact, they agree that they will.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe average market rent in Dublin is now \u20ac2,700 per month with market rents in other areas set at similar levels. From March 1, these are the extortionate rates new tenancies will be set to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a disastrous housing policy which will turn more and more homes in Ireland into financial assets, all for greater returns for corporate landlord shareholders, most of whom are US, UK, German and Irish pension and global wealth funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cFianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael are continuing their tradition of rolling out the red carpet for big developers and investment funds – meanwhile, the sum allocated to the Affordable Housing Fund is only \u20ac150 million, a measly figure the coalition is patting themselves on the back for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is dwarfed by the astronomical \u20ac390 million VAT cut and the tax cut for developers reported today – the real kick in the teeth to renters, those experiencing housing precarity and those stuck in their parents box room, is that none of these hand outs have any affordability clause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese tax breaks amount to almost four times the allocation of funding for affordable housing – we are eroding our tax base to bolster developers\u2019 profit margins at the expense of working people and families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government paused its planned SNA cuts in response to public anger. It should also now pause its disastrous rent reforms, before any more damage is done.\u201d<\/p>\n
February 25th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Institutional landlords and developers are celebrating the government\u2019s upcoming changes to rental laws which throw renters under the bus to increase corporate profits, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: \u201cIRES Reit, the State\u2019s largest landlord, has said the quiet part out loud: that the government\u2019s new rental rules, which will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7,737,510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing-crisis","category-press-release","category-rents","category-rory-hearne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n