Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The rental sector needs to be an attractive option for tenants and a safe and viable investment choice for investors. Tenants need to have certainty that as long as they pay rent to meet their obligations they will be able to stay in the properties they are renting. Equally, landlords and investors, from the individual wishing to secure an income into the future to an institutional investor looking to build a balanced investment portfolio, must have confidence in the long-term value of their investments and the incomes they derive from them.

As the Minister, Deputy Coveney, outlined earlier, the changes proposed in the Bill risk weakening stability and confidence in the rental sector. The type and severity of the rent control proposed in the Bill and the significant reductions in rents that could be enforced as a result of its passage would undermine the economic viability of providing rental accommodation and negatively affect the existing and future supply of residential rental units.

The Bill would set maximum rents today at the consumer price index, CPI, plus 5% above their levels in October 2011. This would mean that over nearly six years, from a point in time where rents were hitting an historic low, the permitted increase would be only 7.3%. To achieve this, the cuts in rent prices would be dramatic and drastic. For example, we would expect the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Dublin 2 to be cut by over €500 per month.

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