Rents continue to spiral out of control as government fails renters

TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has called for emergency action to reduce rents in the private rental sector as the latest Daft.ie rent report shows rents increasing by 9% in south county Dublin in the last 12 months. Teachta Crowe urged the government to ban rent increases for all existing and new tenancies for three years, and to put a full month’s rent pack into every private renter’s pocket.
 
Teachta Crowe said “The latest Daft.ie rent report shows average new rents in south county Dublin increasing by 9% in the last 12 months. New rents now stand at a staggering €2,601. “This is totally unaffordable for ordinary workers and families. People need a break from sky high rents now. It’s clear that the Government has totally lost control of the housing market. Government has failed to deliver a sufficient volume of social and affordable homes. Their controversial policies such as Help to Buy and the Shared Equity Loan have pushed up house prices.
 
“Meanwhile, ordinary people are left paying the price for Government’s failures. People are trapped paying out of control rents, or living in cramped accommodation while they watch their dream of home ownership continue to slip even further out of reach.
 
“Government urgently needs to adopt a different approach. They need to understand that unless we see the delivery of 20,000 public homes a year to meet social and affordable rental and purchase need, then this crisis will continue.
 
“Under a Fianna Fáil Minister for Housing, rents have increased by 30% in just three years. “This government has failed renters across the state. They are out of touch and out of time. Only a Sinn Féin-led government will stand up for renters and deliver the genuinely affordable homes that they need and deserve. Our housing plan would deliver genuinely affordable homes for workers and families.”