Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I thank the Deputies who brought it to the House. As I have said many times, I welcome each and every opportunity to discuss the rental and housing crisis we face in this country. The rental situation in Ireland is now a crisis. In my constituency of Louth, house rent has never been higher as far as I can tell. In my home town of Dundalk it is normal for a standard 3-bedroom house to have a rent bill of between €1,300 and €1,700 per month. To put this in perspective, that is the equivalent of between €300 and €395 per week. This puts renting a home out of reach for most young couples.

The Bill before us calls on the Government to take a number of immediate actions that will help those caught in the rental trap. I would support a ban on rent increases if I thought for one minute it would help solve the rental crisis. To implement this, however, we must put in place the necessary legislation to protect renters.

When we look at mainland Europe, it is quite common to see people rent for all of their adult lives. This is not what we are used to here in Ireland but is it a case that we need to re-adjust our thinking? In mainland Europe it is commonplace for tenants to have long-term lease agreements with their landlords, in many cases for terms of 20 years or more. Furthermore there are very strong rules which protect tenants and, for that matter, landlords. In Ireland at present, it is common for lease agreements to last no longer than a couple of years. This does not give certainty to the tenants and is one of the major issues as far as I am concerned.

We must be able to protect tenants and give certainty to the landlord. Why can we not look at implementing the proper legislation that will facilitate longer term tenancies which, in effect, could last an adult lifetime? We must support those tenants who need the support and not those who do not require such help. Again there would be challenges on how we implement this, but if we give this serious consideration, an answer can be found.

One area we must look at is vacant homes. There are varying estimates of the number of vacant homes there are in Ireland today. Surely, these houses can be brought into the housing stock again. In my home town of Dundalk there are most likely in excess of 100 homes that are lying idle and vacant. While we do not know the full facts, it is suspected the vast majority of these vacant homes are in the possession of the banks. I have raised this issue in the House before and I will raise it again. Why are these houses allowed to remain vacant? Surely, the Government can make provision to bring these homes back into the housing stock. Many of these homes are in established residential areas where there are services in place like schools, shops and public transport.

Why are the banks holding on to these properties? This merits further discussion to get to the bottom of this issue.

In my constituency offices, one of the big issues that is constantly raised is that of young couples not being able to get a mortgage. One of the most frustrating aspects of this is that in many cases these couples are paying in excess of €1,500 per month in rent, yet when they apply for a mortgage, on which repayments are normally in the region of €1,000 to €1,200, they are being refused by the banks. Why is this the case? If they can afford the rent, surely they can afford lower mortgage repayments. I have in the past called on the banks to recognise, give credit for and take into account the rent a mortgage applicant pays when assessing the affordability of a mortgage.

We must also look at the proper introduction of indefinite terms for tenancies. This is commonplace in Europe and is a policy we must embrace. Why are landlords so reluctant to enter into long-term lease agreements? Some would argue it could be greed on the part of the landlords. That may well be true, but we must look at both sides. Why should a landlord not commit to, say, a 20-year tenancy agreement if any rent increases or decreases under that agreement were based on inflation? Surely this would lead to a win-win situation. The tenant would be safe in the knowledge that his or her rent would increase only in line with inflation, while the landlord would have the safety net of a long-term tenancy linked to inflation. We must look at this and see why it is not happening now.

I thank the Deputies for bringing this Bill before the House. As I said, I support any efforts to debate the rent and housing crisis, no matter what side of the House they come from. I welcome the Government's move that the rent pressure zones will be extended to the end of 2024 and that the 4% caps on these zones will be replaced by inflation-linked increases, although I do worry inflation might not be the best option, considering the way prices are increasing now. We all agree that families and children need stability. The moving from one house to another has to stop. Children are moving between houses, having friends one minute and no friends the next. It is very important that for once and for all we all work together and stop playing games. This is very serious.

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