Rent move is ‘too little, too late’
THE designation of the Sligo/ Strandhill Electoral area as a Rent Pressure Zone is ‘ too little, too late as the average rent for a three-bedroom house in the are now stands at a whopping €938 a month, according to Sinn Féin Councillor Chris MacManus.
Three years ago the average rent for the same area was €618 a month, he said.
“Once again County Sligo has the unwanted title of the highest yearly increase in rents across the country.
“The latest quarterly data from the Residential Tenancies Board shows that rents are up 16 percent in County Sligo over the last year, double the eight percent increase across the State.
“Sligo-Strandhill was designated last Wednesday as a Rent Pressure Zone by Minister Eoghan Murphy.
“In December 2016 the average rent for this area was €618 a month.
“This week the RTB stated that the average rent for a three bed house in the area is now €938 a month.
“Intervening at this late a stage may provide some relief for tenants already paying exorbitant rents but for many this is too little, too late.
“Countless rent reviews have already taken place in 2019 across Sligo/Strandhill and will not be affected by this new designation which only becomes law this week. New tenants in 2020 will be offered high rents, which many will agree to as they have no knowledge of the old rent rates. Some landlords will be adept at exploiting existing loopholes. The evidence from other RPZs clearly show this.
“Across the state existing rent pressure zones are not working. Rents are too high and are continuing to rise. The data already shows that RPZs have seen rent increases in areas such as Dublin at double the supposed RPZ limits of 4%.
“There is nothing stable about the private rented sector for most tenants. To claim otherwise is delusional.
“The impact of these astronomical rents are everywhere to be seen. Renters are living under huge financial pressure.
“First time buyers forced to move home with their parents to save for a deposit.
“Local economies starved of spending as workers’ pay 40% to 50% of their disposable income on rent. Small and medium sized employers struggling with wage claims driven in the main by high housing costs.
“The crisis in the rental sector is hurting people and damaging our economy. But it wasn’t meant to be this way. Simon Coveney launched his strategy for the private rental sector in December 2016.
“He promised to ‘moderate the rate of rent increase’. He also said that after three years ‘New supply will have come on stream and pressures will have eased’.
“He and his successor Minister Murphy have failed. And why? Because Fine Gael has left it to the private sector to increase supply Because Fine Gael has failed to deliver a single cost rental home in three years.
“We need to reduce and freeze rents. Sinn Féin’s recent bill will do just that as passed second stage in the Dáil last week with huge support.
“We also need to see investment in affordable cost rental housing projects to offer renters a long term solution,” said Cllr MacManus.