Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

notes that: - the private rental sector is dysfunctional with ever increasing rents and decreasing standards;

- the average State-wide rent now stands at €1,414 per month and the average new rent in Dublin city is €1,951, €1,370 in Galway city, €1,452 in Cork city, €1,265 in Limerick city and €1,067 in Waterford city - an annual increase of 0.9% State-wide;

- too many working people cannot access secure or affordable accommodation, and too many young people are forced to reside with parents and relatives;

- renters do not have the same protections as those who can afford to own their own home;

- Government policy favours subsidy to big developers and institutional landlords over local authorities and approved housing bodies;

- investment funds pay virtually no tax but charge sky-high rents;

- despite being banned, there are still planning applications lodged for over 2,000 co-living spaces;

- co-living remains an entirely unsuitable housing model and is a threat to the fight against Covid-19;

- public health experts have warned that sub-standard and overcrowded private rental accommodation poses a significant risk to the continued spread of Covid-19;

- sub-standard and overcrowded properties continue to be advertised on letting sites such as daft.ie and rent.ie, with floorspace well below 29 metres squared - the minimum area recommended by the Co-Living/Shared Accommodation Report, published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in October 2020;

- short term lets without adequate planning permission continue to be advertised on platforms such as Airbnb;

- local authorities do not have the capacity or resources to fully assess and inspect private rental properties and therefore cannot be effective in ensuring compliance with standards;

- in the first nine months of 2020, 87 per cent of properties in Dublin city were deemed on a first inspection to be non-compliant with the standards; calls on the Government to: - enact legislation to immediately ban rent increases for three years;

- give renters a break by allowing renters to claim up to one month’s rent back in tax credits;

- state clearly what is meant by affordable rent and who will be eligible for the proposed cost rental housing scheme;

- resource local authorities and approved housing bodies to deliver affordable cost rental homes at a scale that would cost between €700 and €900 per month depending on the size of a property;

- urgently legislate for tenancies of indefinite duration, as promised in the Programme for Government, to provide tenants with more security;

- publish a plan to deal with the disorderly exit of accidental and semi-professional landlords from the rental market;

- adequately fund local authorities to ensure that 25 per cent of all private rental properties are inspected once a year so that renters can be sure that their accommodation is safe;

- immediately enact the Property Services (Advertisement of Unfit Lettings) (Amendment) Bill 2019, debated in the Seanad in April 2019;

- publish the results of the six-month survey of issues surrounding the advertisement of unfit rental lettings as promised in 2019; and

- immediately amend and update the minimum standards as set out in section 65 of the Housing Act, 1966, and provide for robust penalties for breaches relating to overcrowding.

I am sharing time with Senator Boylan. I will have nine minutes, she will have seven.