Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move recommendation No. 9:

In page 66, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “Report on income tax relief

25.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on an income tax relief equivalent in value to 8.3 per cent of annual rent to all private rental tenants not already in receipt of any State subsidy, examining the social and economic impact of this measure in the context of high levels of rent and other policy levers such as a ban on rent increases.”.

Nowhere is the housing crisis more pronounced than in the rental sector. In the past year rents have increased by a record 14%, with the average rent now standing at in excess of €1,600 and more than €2,000 in Dublin. There were only 495 rental units on the market in some of the months during the summer, compared with an average of 1,500 at any given time between 2014 and 2019. That is the extent of the collapse in the rental supply. People my own age and others can find cheaper rents in many European cities, such as Berlin, Brussels and elsewhere. These units are more spacious and secure. The Government spent some years opposing and arguing against our call for a rent relief for renters in the form of a refundable tax credit equivalent to one month's rent. Crucially, we also called for a ban on further rent increases. This recommendation calls on the Government to produce a report on the introduction of a rent relief equivalent to one month's rent being put back in renters' pocket and, crucially, to introduce it together with a ban on rent increases. Struggling tenants should not have to endure further hikes in their rental payments.