Latest news with #rentcaps
BreakingNews.ie
19-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Rent pressure zone extension signed into law
Rent pressure zones have been extended nationwide following the signing of emergency legislation into law by President Michael D Higgins. The system, which caps rent increases at the rate of inflation or 2 per cent, whichever is lower, have also been extended until the end of February after originally being due to expire at the end of the year. Advertisement If no action had been taken, there would have left a two-month gap before the Government's proposed changes to the rental sector are due to take effect in March. The measures were rushed through the Dáil and the Seanad this week before being signed into law by Mr Higgins on Thursday evening. The Government is being pressured again over the housing crisis after announcing a swathe of new rent and housing measures. This includes the introduction of rent caps nationwide of 2 per cent or to inflation, whichever is lower. Advertisement This will apply to around a fifth of tenancies not already covered, but has been criticised for allowing rents to 'reset' to the market rate when renters voluntarily leave a tenancy. New six-year minimum tenancies on offer from March next year have been criticised for allowing landlords to 'reset' rents every six years. Earlier, Minister for Housing James Browne said the target to build 41,000 new homes this year was 'not realistic'. Mr Browne has admitted previously that meeting the 2025 target would be 'extremely challenging' and all predictions are trending around 34,000. Advertisement Speaking on Newstalk on Thursday, he said he is committed to enacting a 'step change' in the housing department and will clear 'the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered'. 'I think the challenge we have this year is we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected,' he said of the housing targets. 'We had hoped for much higher figures last year. 'I think, looking at all of the different predictions, which are fairly consistent, I think 41,000 is not realistic for this year. Advertisement 'We will wait to see how the year works out. I don't particularly like getting into predictions. 'My position as minister is to maximise supply, maximise the delivery of new homes and, irrespective of what the housing numbers will be this year, I'm making a step change so we can get that housing supply up, because we need to get from 30,000 onto 50,000, on to 60,000 houses. '40,000 houses is nowhere near enough.' The last Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition built more than 130,000 homes between 2020 and 2024, while the current coalition has set a target of in excess of 300,000 new homes between 2025 and 2030. Advertisement The target for this year is 41,000 new builds, despite the fact the Government missed its target of 33,450 last year and also missed its new-build social housing target by 1,429 last year. The Central Bank has also projected the Government will miss its own housing targets by a wide margin for the next three years – and on Thursday revised its prediction down further, predicting 32,500 newbuilds by the end of 2025. Ireland Rent pressure zones: What are they and what change... Read More The Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government, supported by several independents, has insisted boosting supply is the best way to encourage affordability while opposition parties argue more state-owned homes and regulation is needed. 'We'd gotten to a point with housing where we had seen a very significant increase in supply over the last number of years, and then it's plateaued,' Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said. 'The job of this government, and the job we're working on day in day out, is to get that momentum back.'
BreakingNews.ie
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Taoiseach expects rent caps to be extended nationwide by this summer
The Taoiseach has said he expects rent caps to be extended nationwide by this summer. Tánaiste Simon Harris told the Dáil on Thursday that the emergency legislation would be brought forward next week to extend rent caps nationwide. Advertisement Micheál Martin also denied that the government 'flew kites' on its rent control proposals, which he described as 'modest'. He accused opposition politicians of being 'completely over the top' in response to his comments on Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) earlier this year. As part of the government's rent and tenancy reforms announced on Tuesday, rent caps for ares of high demand – caps of 2% or linked to inflation, whichever is lower – will be extended nationwide. This will apply to around a fifth of tenancies not already in an RPZ, including Donegal, Carlow, Cavan and parts of Cork. Advertisement Asked whether this extension would be passed by the summer recess, Mr Martin said he expected it would be done 'very quickly'. He added: 'Yes, I mean, the first part will be extending it nationally and that should happen very quickly, because it's a short bill.' He said the RPZ extension would be included in the Planning bill, which will be done before the summer recess, or in a standalone 'shorter' bill. 'There's no big deal about that, that's not a big issue for us, but it's one we can do fairly quickly.' Advertisement When put to him that he had earlier this year refused to say whether RPZs would be retained, Mr Martin said: 'No, I did not. I did not. 'I said they were being reviewed. The response to what I said was completely exaggerated and over the top and motivated by politics. 'Politicians came up and said in the Dáil in March 'you're getting rid of RPZs'. I never said we were getting rid of RPZs. 'Everybody knew that in October, a review was under way, the Housing Agency was asked to do it. It was commissioned in October last and people just raced away and said 'we're getting rid of RPZs'. We never said we were getting rid of RPZs.' Advertisement He said he told Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats in the Dáil 'repeatedly' that they would not get rid of RPZs. 'It was a great line to put the fear up people. I didn't put the fear up anybody,' he added. He said he expected the opposition to support the rent cap extension and that the 'modest' proposals have been 'broadly' welcomed by the construction industry. He added: 'Many people in the housing would say there's a modest plan, actually, because I think a lot of the opposition didn't see the protections coming with it. Advertisement 'People feel that the combination of the linking of future rents of new apartment buildings or units to CPI (inflation), along with the capacity to reset after six years, the combination of those two should encourage investment, which wasn't coming up to now.' In Leaders' Questions on Thursday, Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty accused the Government of a 'headless chicken approach' to its rent control plans. He said: 'This is a charter for higher rents. This is a charter for the vulture funds and for property developers. It is benefiting landlords, that is the only people who will benefit here.' Mr Harris said the government proposals 'didn't fall from the sky' and accused Mr Doherty of continuing to 'misinform' people. The Fine Gael leader said they were based on the Housing Agency's review, which raised challenges with the suggestion of 'reference rents'. Mr Harris said that RPZs would be extended to Mr Doherty's constituency of Donegal for the first time and asked did he not welcome that. He said Mary Lou McDonald is in favour of rent pressure zones and doesn't want institutional investment in Ireland, while Eoin O Broin is in favour of reference rents and has met institutional firms regularly, with Mr Doherty. 'Sinn Féin are all over the place on housing,' he said.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
New rent rules: What will changes mean for you? Send us your questions
The Government has announced major reforms to rent caps and tenancies in a bid to address the rental crisis. As details on the plans continue to emerge, do you have questions on how the moves will impact you and your particular situation? We'd like to hear your queries and our journalists will try to answer some of them. Please leave them in the form below. Here is what the proposals will entail: Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) will be extended across the entire country with increases capped at 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. However landlords of newly-built apartments will be allowed to impose higher rent increases in line with inflation. Landlords will be allowed to reset rents on tenancies , beyond the RPZ cap, every six years or when tenants decide to move out. Tenant protections from so-called 'no-fault evictions' will be increased. It will be years before any increased housing supply brought about by rental market reforms lowers the cost of renting, the Coalition was told The proposals raise several questions. How will all this help renters? Will it ultimately reduce rents? Can I expect a rent rise if I'm in my apartment over six years? Will existing tenants be protected? Will landlords be incentivised to force tenants out to increase rents? And will all this encourage foreign funds to build more properties, and how long before we see change? Please leave your questions using the form below. You can submit anonymously or include contact details if you'd be happy to speak to a journalist about your situation. READ MORE We will curate a selection of questions for a piece but please note we may not answer every submission we receive.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Tough decisions to tackle housing crisis are under way – but will they work?
The expected move to ease rent caps is part of a Government response to the worsening housing crisis which will see further policy changes announced in the coming weeks, before a revised plan for housing is finalised in July. Government insiders hope that the departures will show them finally getting to grips with the housing crisis. But it would be an exaggeration to say there is confidence that all this will work quickly to increase housing supply. Meanwhile, opposition to the rent cap changes is growing and will be heard both in the Dáil tomorrow and on the streets next week when Raise the Roof, an umbrella group co-ordinated by the trade unions and including NGOs and Opposition parties, holds a major protest outside Leinster House. The housing measures include some already announced and some yet to come. There will be changes in planning regulations to allow small residences in back gardens, extensions and attic conversion s without planning permission; potentially also changes in regulations on apartment construction; the role of the Land Development Agency will be expanded to include mixed-use developments with private sector partners; the appointment of a 'housing tsar' ( just don't call it that ) is also coming; commencing the changes in last year's mammoth planning Act will make it harder to block planning permissions; and money will be provided for new planners in local authorities and An Bord Pleanála to speed up the planning process. READ MORE [ Explainer: Garden rooms and attics – What are the proposed changes to regulations? Opens in new window ] Divisions remain in Government over the possibility of tax incentives for builders and developers of certain types of housing, and they are unlikely to be settled until the budget. But at the top level of Government, there is a growing sense that urgent action is needed on housing, with one insider insisting that the series of decisions now under way will place housing at the very centre of the Government's priorities from now until the summer recess in mid-July. However, there is also an awareness that some measures to increase supply will leave the Coalition open to political attack and public unpopularity. [ Proposed changes to rent rules will incentivise evictions, housing charity warns Opens in new window ] And the problem for the Government is that the unpopularity and the political attacks will be immediate – but any potential payback from the measures in the shape of increased supply is at best years away, and may not even be felt until after the next general election. Even without the planning delays and legal actions that they have to factor into their considerations, builders and developers say it can still take three to four years to deliver a block of apartments. There is no doubt the measures will be welcomed by developers and landlords. But that is not necessarily the same thing as prompting them to move quickly to increase supply. Many will want to see if tax incentives are introduced in the budget; others will want to see if the Government has the political will to resist the pressure already building on the rent pressure zone changes. 'Look, the reality is there is no silver bullet,' says one senior Government source. But, the source says, we need apartments, and the people who build apartments are not building them right now because of the rent caps. [ Rules for renters: What are the planned reforms and will they work? Opens in new window ] All very well, but the simple and logical outcome of changing the rent cap rules is that rents will go up – that's why the landlords and the developers are in favour of it. The Government says that its package will protect renters – but among groups working at the coalface of homelessness, there is little confidence in that. An uptick in evictions and rising rents – both predicted by Opposition parties – would pile enormous pressure on the Government. Within Government, there is an undoubted willingness to take difficult decisions, and an awareness that the time to take them is in the first year of its term of office. But that is not matched by any great confidence that the measures will work. [ Ireland's housing crisis: Why is there such a shortage of homes to buy and rent here? Opens in new window ]
BreakingNews.ie
09-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Rent pressure zones: What are they and why are there calls for reform?
The Government is examining whether to abolish Ireland's current system of rent caps. Rent pressure zones (RPZ) were introduced in 2016 to help control spiralling costs for tenants. Advertisement The regulations, which apply to certain areas of high demand for housing, are due to expire on December 31st. Here is everything you need to know about RPZs, and what the Government might do next. What are rent pressure zones? The RPZ system was introduced in 2016 to cap rent increases in areas where there is high demand for housing and rental homes. An area designated as an RPZ has annual rent increases capped at 2 per cent or at the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, even if there is a change of tenant. Advertisement However, not all rented properties in RPZs are subject to rent caps. Landlords can be exempt from the rent caps if the property has not been rented for a period of two years or if it has undergone a "substantial change in the nature of the accommodation". Where are rent pressure zones? RPZs now cover most of the country – 111 of the State's 166 local electoral areas are under the rent cap system. Many of the major towns and cities in the Republic are RPZs, along with touristic areas such as Killarney, Westport and Connemara. Castlebar in Co Mayo and Tullow in Co Carlow are the latest areas to become RPZs. Advertisement Why would the Government want to scrap rent pressure zones? There is concern within the Government that RPZs have negatively impacted the level of private investment in housing developments, amid increasing pressure to meet new-build targets. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are under increasing pressure to tackle the State's housing crisis after it emerged that 30,330 homes were built last year, far short of the projected 40,000 new builds put forward by the parties. The debate over RPZs also stems from a report by the Housing Commission that recommended a new form of rent control. The report published in May last year said landlords had been constrained by the RPZ regime and reported a lack of policy certainty and diminished net rental returns. Advertisement It also highlighted that tenants were still experiencing affordability challenges due to historically high rents, while those seeking to find rental accommodation were met with low availability. The commission said the evidence for the effectiveness of the RPZ system was "mixed", and suggested that rent regulation needs to be made fit for purpose for the longer term. The report said the Government should regulate market rents fairly and effectively by reforming current regulations and establishing 'reference rents'. This would replace RPZs with a system that pegs rent to local dwellings of a similar quality. Advertisement In the proposed new system, the reference rent rate would be reviewed at regular intervals and rent would not rise more than a certain percentage above this reference rent over a specific period. This rent regulation would continue to transfer between tenancies, so that if a tenancy ends the same regulations apply to the subsequent tenancy, discouraging the termination of tenancies purely to increase rental income. This new form of rent control would apply across the country, not just in specific zones. What proposals are the Government considering? The Government is now considering tying certain rents to the rate of inflation. Under the proposals, the current RPZ annual caps would not apply to new buildings constructed after a certain date and rents in the newbuilds would instead be linked to inflation. The proposal to get rid of the RPZ cap for newbuilds and tie the rent level to inflation is aimed at increasing private sector investment to deliver more housing. The current 2 per cent rent increase cap would remain in place for existing tenancies, though landlords would be able to change the rents between tenancies, which is currently not permitted. The changes to the RPZ system would be accompanied by enhanced protection for renters in relation to security of tenure amounting to a minimum of six years. There would be a restriction on no-fault evictions during this six-year period – a measure that will require legislation. The landlord would be allowed to reset the rent every six years to the market rate. When will the Government make its decision? Asked on Wednesday when a decision on the future of RPZs would be made, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told reporters: 'I would expect sometime in the next week.' The Taoiseach said the decision will be part of a number of steps towards increasing housing supply, including attracting institutional investors to the sector. 'There'll be further measures taken next week in relation to housing,' he said. 'It's not any one measure that is a silver bullet. It's the cumulative impact of all of them that will lead to an increase and an acceleration of timelines around getting housing units complete.' Coalition leaders are expected to consider the proposals for reforming the RPZ system when they meet on Monday in advance of a final decision on the plans due to be brought to Cabinet by Minister for Housing James Browne on Tuesday. What is the reaction from politicians, experts and industry? Opposition parties have widely criticised any proposals to phase out RPZs. Sinn Féin's housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said said any move by the Government "to allow landlords to increase the rent burden on tenants – a rent burden that is already far too high – will be strongly resisted." He said the proposed changes Sinn Féin would create a 'four-tier rental market', with different rent-setting and eviction rules for four types of tenants depending on whether or not they live in RPZs, when their tenancies begin, and when their homes were built. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said the housing crisis had deepened into a 'social catastrophe' and disaster'. He said his party would be 'actively and vociferously' opposing any attempt to remove rent caps. Lorcan Sirr, a housing lecturer at Technological University Dublin, criticised the suggested change to rental controls, telling The Irish Times that if stability was what the market needed, this in itself was 'policy flip-flopping'. Meanwhile, Eddie Byrne, chief executive of Irish Residential Properties REIT (IRES), which owns about 4,000 homes in Dublin and Cork, welcomed the Government's efforts for reforms that could boost the supply of rental properties while also protecting renters. Michelle Norris, director of the Geary Institute for Public Policy at UCD and member of the Housing Commission, said the majority of members in the commission agreed Government should regulate rents but that the RPZ system needed to be reformed so that there was stability in regulation and a move away from constant change. Ireland Rent pressure zones decision due within a week, sa... Read More The enforcement of any regulation was a key concern of the commission, Prof Norris told The Irish Times, as well as a move away from a 'flat' rate regulation of rent. 'Other European countries have rent regulations that are linked to a reference rent being charged for similar properties in that location that are of a similar quality and size.' John Mark McCafferty of housing charity Threshold said that without RPZs tenants would likely face substantial rent increases, pushing them into financial distress and 'even possible homelessness'. Irish Property Owners' Association chairwoman Mary Conway expressed concern at the potential for a 'two-tier market' with 'old rents versus new rents coming in'.
