Reforms to tackle rental insecurity

TENANTS will be afforded greater security of tenure and price certainty as part of a Government plan to tackle the private rental market, due to be unveiled this week.

Introducing indefinite leases for some renters and incentives for landlords to waive their right to terminate a tenancy when selling homes are among the measures being considered as part of the initiative.

It comes after the Government was warned soaring rents and poor regulation of the rental sector will force tenants on to the streets in demonstrations similar in scale to the water protests.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney will look to provide further support for tenants who have been renting a property for more than six months.

At present, such renters retain a right to stay in the property for a further threeand-a-half years if they have not been issued with a termination notice in the first six months of their stay. Under the new scheme, measures will be introduced to offer greater predictability for these tenants and landlords.

Rent prices will also be made more predictable under the scheme after unions reported that a household in Dublin currently paying €1,600 per month is likely to see rents increase by more than €10,000 per year within five years if current price inflation continues.

The Dublin Tenants Association (DTA) called on the Government to reform the private rental market or risk demonstrations as people struggle to pay their rent.

“There are clear solutions staring people in the face and people are waking up to that fact now,” said DTA member Michael Byrne.