What the new rent rules mean for landlords and tenants
The Government's emergency legislation aimed at making the whole State a Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) has all the hallmarks of a rushed job.
When first announced earlier this month the details seemed vague; renters and landlords were confused as to what it might mean for them; even Government officials called to explain the new measures in interview after interview, struggled.
Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope regularly does reader call-outs, testing levels of consumer confusion and frustration.
He asked for queries – from tenants and landlords – in relation to the new legislation with the promise that he would take these queries directly to the Department of Housing for clear answers.
READ MORE
This is what he learned.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
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Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
What the new rent rules mean for landlords and tenants
The Government's emergency legislation aimed at making the whole State a Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) has all the hallmarks of a rushed job. When first announced earlier this month the details seemed vague; renters and landlords were confused as to what it might mean for them; even Government officials called to explain the new measures in interview after interview, struggled. Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope regularly does reader call-outs, testing levels of consumer confusion and frustration. He asked for queries – from tenants and landlords – in relation to the new legislation with the promise that he would take these queries directly to the Department of Housing for clear answers. READ MORE This is what he learned. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
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16 hours ago
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Where is the value in increasing the Help-to-Buy scheme threshold?
Pre-budget submissions are all about pleadings. Every special interest group in the State makes a pitch for more resources. They all consider their proposals to be in the wider public and economic interest. Some are worthy, many more are largely self-interested. This year the whole process appears to have kicked off earlier than usual, perhaps on the understanding that the largesse of recent years is unlikely to be repeated this time around. In the first place, there is no election. Worries for the medium-term health of Europe's most open economy in a climate where tariffs, trade wars and an absence of consistency on policy are increasingly the norm also will inevitably push Ministers towards a more cautious approach. And for what money is available, the need is to prioritise investment in infrastructure. Expensive upgrades to electricity, water and sewerage networks that are increasingly being cited by foreign direct investors among factors counting against Ireland Inc are needed. READ MORE An EY survey on Friday found that more than two-thirds of Irish businesses 'are worried about securing enough energy to meet future needs', which is an extraordinary number. Put together, it means more things are going to be a tough ask to get over the line. [ First-time buyers in Dublin now locked out of Help-to-Buy scheme, warns Savills Opens in new window ] It seems a strange time then for estate agent Savills to be picking CSO house price data to press for an increase in the upper threshold for the Help-to-Buy scheme. Savills says first-time buyers in Dublin are paying an average of €515,000 for a home, putting them beyond the €500,000 ceiling for Help-to-Buy. It wants that ceiling increased to at least €621,000 to take account of inflation, it says. First, averages are notoriously prone to manipulation by singular expensive property sales. Second, the more reliable median data from the same CSO note shows that prices exceed €460,000 only in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown among the four Dublin local authority areas. [ Developers are bluffing when they say lower prices would undermine viability of house building Opens in new window ] Then there is the maximum available tax refund under Help-to-Buy, which is €30,000. Ignoring that when calling for a higher ceiling is not making property more affordable for first-time buyers in general, only for the very wealthy. It is worth remembering that while the marketing speaks about providing a helping hand for first-time buyers – with even the scheme's name selected for the same reason – Help-to-Buy was from the start a scheme put together to help developers make the numbers stack up on building starter homes. That's not happening, as supply constraints (and prices rising at their fastest rate in 10 years) attest, so for the State – and those first-time buyers – what is the value of widening the incentive?
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16 hours ago
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Fianna Fáil is in desperate need of a candidate for the presidential election. Applications are invited
No matter how much it protests that no decisions have been made, it's hard to see how Fianna Fáil can really just sit out October's presidential election . True, the party hasn't contested an election since 2007, when Mary McAleese snatched the nomination from Albert Reynolds and went on to win a bitterly contested race, subsequently serving two successful terms. But the reasons the party didn't contest in 2011 and 2018 – the first because it was in total meltdown after the financial crisis and then because there was a popular incumbent whom it quite liked seeking a second term – don't apply in 2025. Micheál Martin, having restored Fianna Fáil from a state of near-death to the largest party in the State and returned to the Taoiseach's office after last year's elections, has a credible claim to being the party's most successful leader since its founder. Running for elections is what successful parties do. Sitting on the sidelines, especially with Fine Gael running in what could turn out to be a restorative election for its leader, would be a peculiar choice and reflect both an insecurity about the future and a paucity of imagination and resources for the present. If Sinn Féin runs its own candidate – undecided, say party sources, but likely I think – it would be even harder for Fianna Fáil to enter a nolle prosequi. READ MORE Not that Martin and his allies care all that much for the presidency. They are interested in power and there is little if any power in the Áras. But symbols matter in politics. The election of Michael D Higgins in 2011 didn't save Labour , some Fianna Fáilers point out. True. But the election of Mary Robinson opened the door to thousands of voters who would give Labour unprecedented political opportunities. More than that, Robinson's election signalled and was part of opening up what would lead to a different society. It was one of the most consequential elections ever. The problem, as Martin's lieutenants have pondered for many months now, is a candidate: they don't have one. 'Is there a shortlist?' I asked one party panjandrum. 'There isn't even a long list,' he chortled. 'Have you any ideas?' Bertie Ahern spent months publicly offering himself – though less ubiquitously of late, suggesting some private messages of discouragement have been sent. This is probably wise for the party, and for the Bert. If he ran, the campaign would be a nightmare for him, he would have no chance of winning, and he would ultimately regret it. Offering herself too has been Mary Hanafin, but she has been received with coolness rather than enthusiasm. The truth is that there is an entire generation of Fianna Fáilers whose participation in the economic car-crash of 2008-11 more or less disqualifies them from the prospect of success in an election like this – with the remarkable exception of the leader himself, though he likes being leader and Taoiseach and is not ready for retirement yet. Barry Andrews has no interest in either running for president or doing the job. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Barry Andrews , having a keener political eye than he sometimes lets on, has no interest in either running for the job or doing it and while his MEP colleague Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is being what passes in politics for coy on the question, even a barrister's self-confidence will only get you so far. 'Fianna Fáil will spend the summer going around to the summer schools looking at the various speakers,' laughs one Leinster House insider, a prospect calculated to strike terror into the hearts of those who might be tasked with the job. There remains at all levels of the party, including the leadership, the idea that a McAleese-type candidate will walk through the door some day soon. And maybe that will happen, but for now it remains wishful thinking, and as time ticks on, the chances are diminishing. The former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood is offering himself for this role, but Martin appeared to dismiss that prospect when asked about it recently, insisting that there had been no approach from Fianna Fáil to Eastwood and expressing his surprise at the suggestions that there had. 'It's open to everyone to put themselves forward,' he said. Experts on instant attraction will have noted this is not exactly, 'You had me at hello'. And so the question facing Fianna Fáil, according to several party sources who discussed the issue privately in recent days, may be this: if the party can't find a candidate that it is enthusiastic about, is it better to run a bad candidate or no candidate at all? Opinions vary within the party. One TD fears the political impact of coming third or even fourth behind Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and maybe an Independent. But would it be worse than sitting out the contest entirely? I don't think so. Another party source looks at it this way: when Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell crashed and burned in the 2011 contest – at a time when the party was by far the dominant player in government and politics – and came fourth behind Higgins, Seán Gallagher and Martin McGuinness, winning only 6 per cent of the vote, did that really have any lasting political impact on Fine Gael? Not really. 'If there isn't a political penalty for doing badly, then that makes it more likely we run someone,' the source says. But who? Applications are invited. Knowledge of the political system required; but preferably someone who can be above politics. Who people will admire at home and believe represents them well abroad. A very thorough background check will be required. Deadline for applications: August 31st. Apply: Micheál Martin, Government Buildings, Dublin 2. Canvassing will most certainly not disqualify. Is Conor McGregor really the only person who wants to be President of Ireland? Listen | 19:19
