Latest news with #rentreform
Irish Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Minister wants exemptions to new rent rules to be considered for students sharing houses
Exemptions to rent rules agreed by Government last week should be considered for student house-shares, Minister for Higher Education James Lawless has indicated. A spokesman for the Kildare North TD said one option under examination would prevent landlords from hiking rents in these properties at the same rate as the wider market. In addition to protections for purpose-built student accommodation , Mr Lawless believes a particular policy for houses shared by students should be added on to reforms to the rental market agreed by the Government last week. He said students should not be 'inadvertently disadvantaged' by the new rules. READ MORE In a sign that Ministers are already looking to carve out exemptions from the changed regime, a spokesman for Mr Lawless said reforms to encourage housing supply should protect renters such as students who have 'particular and unique circumstances'. The reforms were criticised as they would see existing properties rented by people who move regularly – such as students – subjected to more frequent rent reviews. Landlords will be permitted to reset their asking price to the market rate if a tenant voluntarily exits a lease signed after next March early, or every six years otherwise. [ Rent changes: How will tenants be impacted by the plans for Ireland's rental market? Opens in new window ] As many students leave their accommodation at the end of an academic term, this would mean the rent for the property could be reset to market rates at that stage. Officials in Mr Lawless's department and the Department of Housing have been asked to explore a 'targeted solution' for students, the spokesman said. 'Some options could include a designated 'student tenancy' category which may function in the same way as current RPZs with rent levels tied to a property as opposed to a tenancy,' he added. Under the current rent pressure zone (RPZ) system, rent can move up by only 2 per cent annually or in line with inflation - whichever is lower. It is expected that purpose-built student accommodation will be exempted from the changes, but housing in residential areas, which is often let to students during term time, may need extra protections, the Minister's spokesman indicated. Restrictions on rent resets when students voluntarily vacate accommodation at the end of the academic year could also be explored, the spokesman added. It is understood that other options could see more conditions put on the resetting of rents dependent on investment in a property. 'While the RPZ reforms are designed to strengthen protections across the board, we must ensure that students are not inadvertently disadvantaged by the new structure,' the spokesman added. 'The Government's intention is to protect tenants while encouraging new supply. Students, as a high-turnover group, must be explicitly considered in this balance.' With the Opposition continuing to criticise the Government's latest rental market policies, it is expected that legislation to extend RPZs nationally will come before Cabinet this week.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Rent reform: is immediate pain worth uncertain gains?
Pat Leahy and Ellen Coyne join Hugh Linehan to look back at the week in politics: Rent reform: the announcement of Minister for Housing James Browne's plans to change the rules around rent pressure zones dominated the week. Will the Government's gamble on investment pay off? And why was the rollout so haphazard? Adjustments to residential property tax received less attention but the changes also carry political risk. Israel's attacks on Iran add further uncertainty to a fraught geopolitical moment. Anti-immigrant riots in Northern Ireland: was the violence exacerbated by political interventions? Plus the panel pick their favourite Irish Times articles of the week, including a reflection on 1980s Ireland's strange treatment of women , a critique of Irish media's coverage of a controversial issue and how social media firms used the 'like' button to turbocharge their business models .
