Dáil debates

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Rising Rental Costs: Motion [Private Members]

 

7:10 pm

Photo of Maurice QuinlivanMaurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To put it mildly, renters and especially young people who want to live independently are really struggling. If the cost to rent does not lock people out of the market, it puts huge financial burdens on workers and their families. People from all walks of life are struggling to pay the rent. Families who need to rent a house for themselves and their children are struggling. Young workers starting out in their careers are struggling to pay rent. Hard-working people cannot keep pace with the cost of rent.

In Limerick, the rent increase in quarter 4 of 2021 was 14.1%. The average rent in my home county is €1,203 per month but in fairness, there is hardly anything to rent there. With the rising rate of inflation of 6.7% in March, people are paying more in rent but with less income available. The rising rents are one of the huge challenges facing renters. The other is that there are almost zero properties available to rent. The number of available properties in the market has been falling for five years.

On daft.ie, there were five properties available to rent in Limerick city this morning. There was only one house available. The cheapest of these properties was €1,200 per month and that was for a studio in the suburb of Dooradoyle. A three-bedroom apartment in the city centre was listed as €2,750 per month. These are outrageous prices that most families would struggle to afford.

For too long, the Government has depended on the housing assistance payment. It is not suitable. The rates have not increased in a decade. In my experience in Limerick, either it is an insufficient sum to aid with renting or, in many cases, a prospective tenant who is eligible for HAP will be simply not considered by the landlord. HAP helps a little but what can and will help more is the speeding-up of the delivery of new social housing.

Last week, I met John and Aoife, who have nowhere to live. Their previous rental property was sold. Both of them work and they have a young child in primary school. The limit for social support from Limerick City and County Council is €32,250, which is below what they earn, so there is no help for them. There are thousands in a similar position and the Minister and the Government have failed to increase these limits. Social housing income limits have not been changed since they were last set in 2011. They must be raised at least in line with inflation. Given John and Aoife cannot rent, buy or get social support, where are they supposed to go? What is going to happen to them?

What would help is an increase in the social housing income thresholds. They are simply too low and far too many people are excluded from social housing or State support because they earn too much and, at the same time, too little to afford a mortgage or even rent. The rental crisis is one the Government and its housing Minister seem incapable of resolving. The crisis has a knock-on effect on homelessness and overcrowding and is an issue that simply must be addressed. We in Sinn Féin believe renters can be rescued. It is time the Government stepped up and ensured increased investment in the delivery of affordable and cost rental houses. In the meantime, it could increase the social housing income thresholds and introduce a three-year ban on rent increases and a refundable tax credit of one month's rent.

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