High rents are a signal to people to start building new dwellings.
I am neither a tenant nor a landlord, so excuse my ignorance, but how can landlords justify that the cost of rent is acceptable? Where I live, the rent for 3 bed semis is around €2,500 a month. It is simply not feasible that this can continue. People can't afford these high rents and on top of that, the uncertainty as to whether the rents will increase. The ordinary person should not be penalised because they are simply trying to survive in a world where landlords have been wealthy enough to be able to buy investment properties and charge extortionate rent.
Everything in context.Landlords charging €2,500 a month for a three bed-semi is a disgrace
The Sinn Fein Rent Freeze Bill (which passed to the second stage in the Dail before Christmas) provides that new tenancies will be set according to the Residential Tenancies Board rent index for equivalent properties within that local electoral area.
Great way of buying a house; move in as a tenant and then stop paying the rent. The landlord can't evict you so has to sell it to you at a massive discount.Agree fully, but imagine trying to sell a house with a tenant in situ who has chosen to stop paying their rent?
Everything in context.
Is 2,500 a month a disgrace on a house with a market value of 600k+? Or 500k+? At what point does it become 'a disgrace'?
For the record, I'm not a landlord, not would I become one in the current environment.
The issue is a supply side problem. Messing in the market will result in less landlords, less properties available for people and less supply. This will mean greater demand and drive rent prices higher again.
A rent freeze will protect renters in houses now, but what about new renters, people moving to dublin to start working, where will they go? There simply won't be any properties for them to rent or move into. This will hit employment and slow investment. When that happens, it doesn't matter about anything else. It's the economy stupid. If the economy isn't going well, there's no money to do anything. Period.
Landlords charging €2,500 a month for a three bed-semi is a disgrace and I say that as a landlord. Accidential one at that in negative equity. Who decides what is a fair rent to charge? If the government decides, do you not think that private owners and investors will up sticks immediately and leave for fear of interference, state control etc? Of course they will.
Due to a tax change on rental income some years ago (all liable for PRSI and USC) rent per month had to increase by 22% just for landlords to be left with the same money as before this tax change. Rather than the government penalising and hitting landlords consistently with red tape, legislation, rent freezes and making them out to the villian, why doesn't the government reverse the decision to make rental income liable to PRSI and USC and in return get landlords to reduce rents by 20%. Landlords are left with the same money, renters get a 20% reduction instead of the 1500 euro or (maximum of 8.5% reduction as per Sinn Fein manifesto) and that's real action there. But they won't. They will hit landlords and drive more out of the market.
"..how can landlords justify that the cost of rent is acceptable"
But why do we need to justify it?
If sell my house, no one will say a word when its sold to the highest bidder.
Remember in the majority of cases the landlord is also the "ordinary person" you know the plumber, electrician, taxi driver those self employed people who invested in property as a pension.
Remember that a lot of tenants don't have any investments or security towards their pension.
I suppose I should be shocked that so many people on this thread seem oblivious to the plight of the tenant, but then I need to remind myself that I am in a place where a lot of people have a lot of money invested in property, stocks, shares and whatever else takes your fancy. It's very hard to understand something of which you have no personal experience.
We're not oblivious to the plight of the tenant. But the real problem is the lack of housing. The high rents are a symptom of that not a cause.
Lower rents would just exacerbate that as has been proven in city after city.
You are also prioritising existing tenants over future tenants. Freezing rents now will mean less rental properties in future, and people will use the existing properties less efficiently - why take in another housemate, why not stay somewhere bigger than you need if the rent's been frozen and locked into a below market rate.
It only took 12 to 18 months in 2008 ....Build more houses and keep rent prices as they are in the interim? And how long would that take?
I understand. What is the solution? Build more houses and keep rent prices as they are in the interim? And how long would that take?
The whole bloody thing is a mess.
I suppose I should be shocked that so many people on this thread seem oblivious to the plight of the tenant...
I understand. What is the solution? Build more houses and keep rent prices as they are in the interim? And how long would that take?
The whole bloody thing is a mess.
Firstly, I don't appreciate being called stupid.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?