Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The witnesses might see themselves as part of the solution, and the jury is still out on this. I do not see the rental market as part of the solution. In fact, I see it as being part of the problem. I do not blame the Irish Property Owners Association; it is because in lieu of what was previously a reliable system of local authority housing the private rental system was purported to be the future answer, along with the privatisation of the sector. It has not worked. I predicted it would not work at the time. I will not go into the details of it now, but the problem remains. Do the witnesses accept there is now an urgent need for local authorities to become directly involved in the provision of local authority housing through direct building and local authority loans, which were the bedrock of what the first-time house buyer relied on in the past? Public officials such as nurses, gardaí and teachers went there for their loans and many people stayed in the same house for their lifetime or for quite a long time.

There is a difference between responsible and irresponsible landlords. There is a difference between people who are in the market to make a quick buck and those in the market to provide an ongoing long-term service, and I take this point. How do the witnesses respond to situations in which rent increases well in excess of inflation are demanded by some landlords on a fairly regular basis? To what extent do they take advantage of the fact one is only allowed one rent increase every two years? A rent increase in this situation could well be 100%. I have dealt with such situations as, I am sure, has everybody else here. How do the witnesses deal with this? It certainly is not a PR effort which would be of any benefit to the Irish Property Owners Association.

The same would apply in respect of a deposit refund. The responsible property owner is willing to do the right thing. How many situations are the witnesses aware of in which the tenant is not refunded the deposit? The only way the tenant has of getting the deposit is by staying in the property illegally for an extra month to work off the value of the rent.