A leading Clare auctioneer claims a boost in housing supply is the only sure-fire way renters will be protected into the future.
It comes ahead of major rental law changes, which come into force this weekend.
From Sunday, new rental laws come into effect across the country that promise to provide stronger protections for tenants.
While existing tenancies will remain largely unaffected, all new tenancies will have a minimum duration of six years, increasing the security of tenure from the current four.
Landords can only remove tenants within this period if they’re not meeting their obligations, the property is no longer fit for purpose or is changing use, the property is being refurbished, or the landlord or an immediate family member intends to move in.
Annual rent reviews, capped at 2%, must now be sent to both the tenant and the Residential Tenancies Board, with landlords required to provide three examples of comparable properties at the same rate, drawn from a new online tool, the RTB Rent Register.
Shannon Sinn Féin Representative and Homeless Support worker Shane Doody believes, however, that the changes will be disastrous for renters.
The new legislation also allows landlords to reset prices to market rate in limited circumstances, leading to suggestions that this could result in big landlords hiking rents.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has told the Dáil the state’s largest landlord, Ires Reit, which owns over 3,600 properties primarily in the capital, could raise rents by 25 percent, under the new laws.
An Ennis Auctioneer says the problem that’s affected areas like Clare over the past decade, however, has been the steady flow of smaller landlords leaving the market.
Diarmuid Mc Mahon of Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon says this accounted for 30% of their house sales each year and the announcement of new legislation is exacerbating the situation.
He believes keeping landlords in the market and increasing supply is the only certain way to protect renters in the long run.
Listen to the full interview here
