The government has set out to create a perfect storm that will see homelessness soar even further, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne said:
“The Taoiseach was too ashamed by today’s plan to admit that every six years, rent regulation as we know it will effectively be wiped out, with landlords free to raise rents to the market rate.
“The government’s press release explicitly states that all landlords may reset rents every six years – the Taoiseach must issue a clarification on this matter, or admit that this is government policy, something he was unable to commit to this afternoon in the Dáil.
“The vagueness of today’s plan is expressly designed to hide rent resetting between tenancies, which will lead to skyrocketing rents
“This is a government policy to hike up costs, an interpretation shared by Focus Ireland, despite the sector’s current crisis of unaffordable and unsustainable prices.
“It’s incredible that the government is planning even more favourable treatment for vulture funds than already exists, funds which have so much power they may influence how the market rate in a given area is set.
“These rent increases will drive even more families and their children into homelessness – how can the government even consider doing this when homelessness numbers are already at record levels?
“Furthermore, the change to new-build rent caps that links price increases to inflation exposes younger generations to massive potential rent increases, only benefitting vulture funds – the government has clearly caved to the lobbying of institutional investors and landlord representative groups, who they’ve been meeting regularly.
“Our young people are paying the price for enticing these funds in, which the Housing Minister made clear today when he said this policy is an “activation measure for international investors”.
“This is a policy shift back to the institutional investor funds – it is making build-to-rent corporate landlords central to housing policy.
“Renters in existing tenancies will in turn face a higher likelihood of eviction so that landlords can balloon the rent – there has been no mention of additional funding to the Residential Tenancies Board to prevent this from happening.
“The no-fault evictions ban should be available to all renters and implemented immediately – the rent cap between tenancies should be retained, and, crucially, we must see a freeze on rents for three years.
“The Taoiseach and Housing Minister must provide clarity on their plan to obliterate rent regulations every six years, and if they’ve assessed the impact this plan will have on rent costs and homelessness.”
June 10th, 2025