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BreakingNews.ie
7 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Market rent ‘resets' may undermine security of tenure plans, Threshold says
Market rent resets will undermine the Government's own security of tenure proposals, a housing charity has said. Threshold has also predicted that the rental market will become 'far more expensive' within five years if current trends on tenancy turnover continue. Advertisement It said current rates of churn in rental properties would leave the majority of tenants paying market rents within that time period. Last month, rent pressure zones were extended nationwide as part of a series of sectoral reforms brought by Housing Minister James Browne. The system, which caps rent increases at the rate of inflation or 2 per cent, whichever is lower, is in place until the end of February, when further proposals are slated to take effect from March. New tenancies created from March 1st onwards will be set at market value and offer six-year minimum rolling tenancies. Advertisement At the end of the six-year tenancy, the rent can be reset and put back to the market. Sinn Fein's Eoin O Broin (Niall Carson/PA) Large landlords, defined as having four or more tenancies, will be banned from carrying out no-fault evictions for tenancies beginning from March. A small landlord can end tenancies via a 'no fault eviction' in limited circumstances, such as economic hardship or to move a family member in, but if they do that, they cannot reset the rent. Ann-Marie O'Reilly, the organisation's national advocacy manager, told the Oireachtas Housing Committee on Tuesday that the measures on rent resets could leave people 'priced out of their home or potentially priced out of their community'. Advertisement She added: 'Everyone will be paying those much higher rents. 'And while the RPZs aren't being ended on a certain day and that cliff edge scenario has been avoided, by allowing the change to happen on an individual tenancy basis, it's creating a cliff edge for each and every individual household, just at different points.' Threshold, which advocates for the prevention of homelessness, was appearing before the Committee during a session on issues relating to the rental sector. Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin asked for the charity's view on the impact the new rental sector reforms will have on tenants. Advertisement Ms O'Reilly said: 'Overall, we're very supportive of what's been proposed in regard to security of tenure and the limitation of the no-fault evictions. 'However, the proposal to allow a market rent reset at different points – in particular at the turnover of a tenancy where the tenant leaves by their own choice or if its evicted for breaching the agreement – that is a concern. 'We think that will actually undermine the entire security of tenure that is being proposed.' Ms O'Reilly said tenancies tend to turn over every three to four years, whether it is by the tenant's choice or not. Advertisement 'If we continue in that vein, probably within a very short space of time – maybe four to five years – we'll actually see the majority of rents at market rent, so we'll actually have a far more expensive rental market.' Ms O'Reilly said it was a possibility that there would be a rise in evictions of tenants who are unable to pay rents. Mr O Broin had noted that this was a trend which precipitated the creation of rent pressure zones. The president of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers disputed the claims that all tenants would be paying much higher rents. Fintan McGill said: 'I don't believe that personally, and I don't think it's right to say that everybody will pay much higher rent – I don't think that's the case. 'I think everybody will pay market rent. And whatever the market says, people will pay it.' As an example, Mr McGill told the committee that the changes may mean that rates 'may well be higher' for a tenant who is renting off a landlord since 2016 at 50 per cent of market rents. He said landlords had been discriminated against because they could not charge a 'full rent for their property'. Mr McGill also disputed that rents never going down, saying he had seen that happen in the early 2000s. 'So I don't believe that the change of this particular scenario that we're talking about after March 1st is going to change rents and bring them up. 'I think that these changes are going to be very good for a landlord.'
BreakingNews.ie
08-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Minister told new apartment guidelines are ‘insanity'
The Housing Minister has been told his plan to lower the cost of apartments by reducing their size is 'insanity'. The Cabinet signed off on new guidelines for apartment building brought by Minister James Browne on Tuesday. Advertisement It includes a reduction in the minimum size of studio apartments from 37 square metres to 32 square metres. In an attempt to improve delivery costs of apartment schemes, the Government would also remove any restrictions on apartment mix. The stated aim of the measures is to improve the viability of apartment building. Mr Browne said his proposals will reduce costs by between €50,000 to €100,000 per unit. Advertisement It is also proposed to remove any limitation on the number of units per lift and stair core per floor, subject to compliance with building regulations. It also reduces the guidelines for the number of apartments required to have dual aspect windows. The minister has insisted the changes will not compromise disability, fire safety, or environmental requirements. Sinn Féin's Eoin O Broin. Photo: Niall Carson/PA. At the Housing Committee on Tuesday, Mr Browne committed to providing members with the data behind the 100,000 euro figure on savings. Advertisement It came after Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin O Broin heavily criticised the proposals. Mr O Broin said: 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results – and that's exactly what you and your colleagues in Cabinet are doing today. 'For the third time, a minister of Fianna Fail/Fine Gael Government has brought forward regulations to undermine and reduce standards of apartments.' Mr Ó Broin said the new guidelines would allow for 'smaller, darker apartments in sub-optimally planned residential developments'. Advertisement He added: 'The irony, of course, is these are going to going to be the most expensive apartments, because these are the apartments that will have no protections whatsoever as you gut rent pressure zones. 'It will also push up land values – and I'm sure your officials have advised you of this – if you increase the density of a plot, it increases the price of the land, and that will impact on viability.' Mr Ó Broin said the minister had also created 'huge uncertainty' in the planning and development sectors. He added: 'What I don't understand is the claim that you've made – albeit with some caveats in your press release – that these changes will result in some cases of a reduction in cost per unit of 50,000 to 100,000 euro.' Advertisement Mr Ó Broin said he did not see any scenario from Department reports that reducing square meterage of one-bed apartments and studios would lead to those savings. He said the Department's own reports showed that a reduction of three-to-seven square metres would result in a saving of just 9,000 euros per unit. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne. Photo: Niall Carson/PA. Asked specifically to explain the claim, the minister said the savings also arose out of other measures including apartment mix, as well as the new rules on lift and stairwells. 'When you add it all up in terms of staircases etc, the number of lifts, you will get an offer of more units onto the same square footage on the envelope of the apartment block. 'And then when you divide that back down, you will find that there is significant savings.' Pressed on whether he could provide data to support his claim to the committee, the minister said he would share the Departmental figures with the committee. Ireland Government eases apartment size rules aiming to cu... Read More Meanwhile, Social Democrats housing spokesman Rory Hearne asked if analysis had been undertaken to assess the impact of light reduction under the guidelines. Mr Browne said 'careful consideration' had been given to the changes. Asked if he could hand over such a report to the committee, Mr Browne said he was not sure what sort of analysis could be provided.
Irish Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
TD blasts Government's plans to reduce minimum apartment size as "utter madness"
Government plans to allow developers to build tiny shoebox-type apartments have been described as 'utter madness' by Sinn Fein. The planned overhaul of building regulations that are expected to be put forward by Housing Minister James Browne are designed to cut the cost of construction by up to €100,00 a unit. But it could mean that buyers and renters will be forced to live in Hong Kong-like living accommodation with no green or communal areas. Restrictions are also to be lifted on the number of one-bedroom apartments built in any future development leading to fears that blocks of tiny studio flats will spring up in cities and towns around the country and do nothing to accommodate families. Sinn Fein's housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin said the plan was 'utter madness' that fails to address the housing crisis. He added: 'Minister James Browne's plan to reduce minimum apartment sizes is a copy-and-paste of Fine Gael policy that failed utterly.' The proposed changes to apartment building guidelines set to be brought forward by the Housing Minister includes measures around dual aspect windows, and the ratio of units to lifts and stairs. The new guidelines reduce the minimum size of studio apartments from 37 square metres to 32 square metres. In an attempt to improve delivery costs of apartment schemes, they will also remove any restrictions on apartment mix. Currently, guidelines restrict the number of one-bedroom apartments within a scheme to 50% – with no more than 20 to 25% consisting of studio apartments. It is also proposed to remove any limitation on the number of units per lift and stair core per floor, subject to compliance with building regulations. This will allow developers to exceed the current maximum of 12 units. For the latest news and breaking news visit Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Follow us on Twitter @IrishMirror - the official Irish Mirror Twitter account - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook/irishmirror - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Sunday Mirror and
Irish Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
New RPZ rules mean you'll soon be paying even more rent. That's the whole point
It's amazing how the Government can oversee a decade-long housing crisis and still pretend they want to solve it. They engineered it, created it and take active steps to ensure it keeps on going. Look at the rush to restrict rent caps, the only measure preventing total housing chaos. Yet this reckless intervention is being framed as a national rollout of protections for renters - the exact opposite of what it is. They're calling it a 'reform' of the Rent Pressure Zones, which were reluctantly brought in in 2016 and only after runaway rents had reached a peak. Limiting rents to a 2 per cent annual hike was absolutely necessary to stop the greed. But these changes to RPZs will leave it toothless, and pile more pain on renters. The express purpose is to make rents higher so the market is "attractive" to investors. The only thing investors find attractive is money. Now, tenants are trapped into higher rents on both sides - forced to pay more if they stay long-term in the same place, or, if they move to a new place. Do I stay or do I go? Either way, you'll be stiffed for the highest rent possible. Landlords will be able to 'reset' rents after six years for sitting tenants; and they can reset them too, for new tenants. Government is determined to make the market more profitable for the investors they bend over for. This is being done on the backs of renters already stuck paying extortionate average rents of €2,000 nationally and €2,500 in cities. The reform - rushed into legislation on Friday - will ensure more rent hikes, sparking ever-upwards market rates. Sinn Fein's Eoin O Broin described it as "the deathknell of rent pressure zones as we know them'. The reason it's being done is to drive rents up. Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Housing Minister James Browne have stated this. They want an Ireland of higher rents. Martin said it was about enabling a 'stable environment in which to invest'. James Browne said: "Rents may go up." May? Will. If they don't go up, the investors won't invest. Our leaders claim it will be more costly in the short term, but lead to more supply in the long term. What use is that to tenants? That's punishing renters to pander to investors. It's also an empty pledge, as such investors deliver small volumes of very expensive rental in affluent parts of Dublin and Cork - helping just the chosen few. It goes against the Housing Commission advice, which recommended RPZs stay in place while an alternative system of rent controls is formulated. The Central Bank's Robert Kelly said the changes will 'be painful for renters'. He said: 'It's likely to be positive in terms of the level of supply, as they have rent resets within them. But the pain felt by households is not even, due to the housing crisis'. Good news for the investor - bad news for the renter. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Mike Allen from Focus Ireland called it 'a solution that says 'we can deliver more housing, but you won't be able to afford to live in it'. That's not a solution.' I was at the Raise the Roof rally outside the Dail on Tuesday. I've been attending such protests since 2015, usually with my son Luc and his friend Filip. I've seen them grow from little boys into young men, over the time. They're now taller than Eoin O Broin, who they first met at these protests when they were six or seven. And yet it is still going on. Childhoods continue to be lost to it. This latest move makes it clear the crisis is actually profit-driven policy. At the rally, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said they had gathered at the rally to call out the Government's "spoof and outright lies". TD Paul Murphy correctly called it a 'manufactured crisis' that 'transfers wealth from workers to a tiny few at the top, the corporate landlords and developers'. Deputy Rory Hearne said it is 'clearly government policy to have a permanent housing crisis'. For a government to do that to its own people is, in my view, tantamount to treason.
RTÉ News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Dáil to debate emergency motion on housing and homelessness
The Dáil will tomorrow debate an opposition motion calling for emergency action to address the deepening housing and homelessness crisis. A Raise the Roof protest will take place at the gates of the Leinster House to coincide with the motion which has the support of Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, PBP-Solidarity, several Independent TDs and the Green Party. It is calling for a dramatic increase in public housing investment and it is seeking to have stronger taxes imposed on vacancy and dereliction. The opposition motion wants greater protections for private renters through the freezing and cutting of rents and it warns against any changes to the Rent Pressure Zones that would increase rents. There is also a call for the reintroduction of the ban on no fault evictions and to fully restore the Tenant in Situ scheme. Sinn Féin's Eoin O Broin said tomorrow's protest will be the first in a series of rolling demonstrations across the country. While Labour TD Conor Sheehan's revealed there is anecdotal evidence that landlords are hiking rents in the aftermath of the Government's reform of the Rent Pressure Zones which he described as incoherent and confusing.
