Irish Times covers Landlord's perspective on rental crisis

[Allpartied]

The ideal you're describing sounds familiar. It's called communism. It worked in the old Soviet Union and its dependencies. Subsidized high-quality housing was provided for all by the State. Professional teams of electricians, carpenters, painters and plumbers did the preventative maintenance and the communal areas were managed properly by the benevolent State authorities. Millions of desperate refugees flocked from the Western "democracies" to live in this workers' paradise. The East German Soviet satellite state even had to build a huge wall to keep them out!

And of course private landlords were indeed gently run out of the business, and then gently put up against a wall and shot, or gently reallocated living quarters in a compassionate re-education facility in Siberia, where their benevolent KGB warders would help them reflect on the error of their exploitative ways while encouraging them to engage in a spot of healthy, rehabilitative rock breaking.

Neither was there any question of rich wealthy individuals evicting vulnerable families of five so they could acquire a villa in the Algarve, or the Crimea. Unless they were well up in the Party hierarchy of course.

Ah yes, the joys of Communism. What could possibly go wrong?

Its really not communism. Its well regulated housing policy, rather than the wild west we have here.

You will find similar housing policies in the Stalinist strongholds of New York, or Germany, or France, or Sweden.

Private landlords are discouraged and large corporations, who get too big for their boots, are subject to strict regulation

Berlin’s vote to take properties from big landlords could be a watershed moment | Alexander Vasudevan

The successful referendum to expropriate the city’s apartments from corporate landlords is a potential template for Europe, writes Oxford University’s Alexander Vasudevan

www.theguardian.com

Just for the record, I do not advocate the execution or gulag style exile of private landlords.

 

[AlbacoreA]

You've obviously never been on the receiving end of such a demand.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a well regulated, council owned rental property. It was our home, and still is my mother's home. We had full secure tenancy for life.

It really does make a massive difference to the quality of life.

Who owns it now?

 

[Allpartied]

Who owns it now?

The council still own it and when my mother passes on, or needs alternative care, it will be used to house another family.

 

[AlbacoreA]

The council still own it and when my mother passes on, or needs alternative care, it will be used to house another family.

One of the reasons for the shortage of housing (social and affordable) was local authorities selling off their housing. Not just in Ireland but across Europe. Also not building to replace stocks.

Only 75 local authority houses were built in 2015 - the worst year on record

Last November, Alan Kelly vowed there would 200 council houses built by the end of the year.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[AlbacoreA]

Its really not communism. Its well regulated housing policy, rather than the wild west we have here.

You will find similar housing policies in the Stalinist strongholds of New York, or Germany, or France, or Sweden.

Private landlords are discouraged and large corporations, who get too big for their boots, are subject to strict regulation

Berlin’s vote to take properties from big landlords could be a watershed moment | Alexander Vasudevan

The successful referendum to expropriate the city’s apartments from corporate landlords is a potential template for Europe, writes Oxford University’s Alexander Vasudevan

www.theguardian.com

Just for the record, I do not advocate the execution or gulag style exile of private landlords.

This would be the strict regulation and enforcement that they are failing to do now. But magically would suddenly be able to do it because....?

 

[PebbleBeach2020]

The council still own it and when my mother passes on, or needs alternative care, it will be used to house another family

You have some flawed thinking in your argument. From my experience, professional corporations renting out properties do so at the top end of the market. They charge the maximum rent possible and leave units vacant and release in small tranches to the rental market to ensure demand is high and so is the rent. These corporations are not interested in the lower end of the market, which is, again in my experience where a lot of these small landlords that you want to gently push out of the marketplace. Who will house these families and individuals paying in a lot of instances well below the market rent for such a property?

Do you want the small landlords to stay on in the market until the Councils and the Stat build enough houses for all these people in receipt of HAP etc? And once thats done then we can run the small landlords out of town?! Are you upset that these faceless corporations wouldn't have been interested in house you, your family or your mother? Are you jealous of small landlords and wanting to push them gently out of the market so that you can get a house perhaps?

Why is the focus on a relatively small number of landlords (86% of them hold just 1 or 2 properties) and not on the faceless corporations who hold tens of thousands of rental properties, or on the State and Councils who have overseen the sell off of Council properties and the stopping of building of Social Housing? Is it easier to blacken and blame a small cohort of landlords who may have this as their pension and worked and scrimped hard to save up and pay for the property?

Better to blame and gently push the small landlords out as these blaggards are paying 52% of rental income/profits in tax, whereas the faceless corporations are paying a fraction of that. To hell with these landlords.

I'm not a renter, but running the mom and pop landlord out of business is a seriously back move over the medium term. I'd love to see the figures on what the mean or median rent charged by landlords with 1 property is, compared to faceless corporations with over a 100 properties. Does it need to be spelt out to you that if you want a market place with only faceless corporations then be prepared to pay anything from 200-500 euros (or maybe more) for the same property each month.

In hindsight, what people wish for, if it comes to pass, can make them feel like idiots for proposing it in the first place. I get the feeling your suggestion of gently pushing the small landlord out, falls into this category perfectly.

 

[Allpartied]

One of the reasons for the shortage of housing (social and affordable) was local authorities selling off their housing. Not just in Ireland but across Europe. Also not building to replace stocks.

Only 75 local authority houses were built in 2015 - the worst year on record

Last November, Alan Kelly vowed there would 200 council houses built by the end of the year.

www.thejournal.ie

This is, indeed, the core of the problem. Private landlords, may be petrified, but with rents at record highs and prices still rising, renters are even more scared.
Maybe, we need a little more intervention from the state, instead of this blind faith in the market.

Rory Hearne: Why is Nama not being used to address housing emergency?

The failure to use land owned by Nama to resolve the housing crisis is a failure of government policy, writes Dr Rory Hearne

www.irishexaminer.com

 

[jpd]

whereas the faceless corporations are paying a fraction of that

If you are talking about REITs, then they have to pass on their profits to the shareholders - and the shareholders have to pay income tax on that so it is not exactly as taxless as you imply

 

[Leo]

Rent increases may suggest 'unacceptable level of non-compliance by landlords' | BreakingNews.ie

The latest RTB report, which covers April to June 2021, revealed a national increase of 7 per cent

www.breakingnews.ie

Over 90% of private rental homes in Fingal ‘fail inspection’

Private properties reviewed in 2019, 2020 below minimum State standard, council told

www.irishtimes.com

I mean there will be problems with private rental companies and they need to be closely regulated.

But the strong, personal vested interest of the private landlord is not the same interest as the renter. It is much harder to regulate thousands of individuals , than to regulate well run private companies, councils or housing associations.

Hold on, the RTB are just suggesting there might be unacceptable non-compliance based on rent increases being notified to them. Aren't they the authority who determines compliance with rent increases? They publish a tool to allow landlords determine the maximum they can increase rent by, but somehow they're not able to run analysis themselves on their own data to detect non-compliance?

It's also no surprise that such a high proportion of properties in Fingal fail the inspection. The standards are set the the latest building regs, so the vast majority of older properties will fail one or more elements. Individual landlord or large company will have no effect on that issue. Indeed, the more likely outcome of greater institutional involvement in this area is that these companies with their significant legal budgets will fight to reduce these standards.

 

[Allpartied]

Do you want the small landlords to stay on in the market until the Councils and the Stat build enough houses for all these people in receipt of HAP etc? And once thats done then we can run the small landlords out of town?! Are you upset that these faceless corporations wouldn't have been interested in house you, your family or your mother? Are you jealous of small landlords and wanting to push them gently out of the market so that you can get a house perhaps?

If the small landlords are petrified, when rents are the highest they have ever been, then maybe they should all bail out. When a house is sold, it doesn't disappear.

You have some flawed thinking in your argument. From my experience, professional corporations renting out properties do so at the top end of the market. They charge the maximum rent possible and leave units vacant and release in small tranches to the rental market to ensure demand is high and so is the rent. These corporations are not interested in the lower end of the market, which is, again in my experience where a lot of these small landlords that you want to gently push out of the marketplace. Who will house these families and individuals paying in a lot of instances well below the market rent for such a property?

The private companies may have a role to play and, it is my experience, that they are far more professional when it comes to implementing simple repairs, or upkeep, or secure tenancies. Most landlords regard the property as their house, which they have generously allowed you to rent, until they decide to kick you out.
But councils, or housing associations should form the bulk of the rental market. They should be present in every part of every town and city in the country.

 

[Leo]

Maybe, we need a little more intervention from the state, instead of this blind faith in the market.

With the state bodies struggling to collect rent, they have been most influential in trying to pass this off to the private sector.

 

[AlbacoreA]

None of this has anything to do with private LLs.

Regulation, enforcement and supply are all controlled by the state.

Private rental market should be seperate from social and public housing. If you have a 2 million euro apartment it makes no sense you are tied into the same rules and regulations as a the cheapest one bed flat. Really all these knee jerk ideas are just destroying the market. The Govt is happy to deflect on to the private market because it makes people ignore the Govt part in all of this.

The problem you have is the vast majority of the private market is one property landlords. How much wealth do you think you can generate from one rental.

 

[Sarenco]

Department of Finance officials warn Department of Housing against extending rent controls -

‘The insights from economics is clear about rent controls: they reduce housing supply relative to what would otherwise be the case. So while those currently in rented accommodation may benefit from price controls in the short run, those seeking to get into the rental market lose out because supply is curtailed.’

Expanding rent pressure zones will cut housing supply, say mandarins - Extra.ie

Expanding rent pressure zones will reduce the supply of housing, the Department of Finance has warned.

extra.ie

 

[AlbacoreA]

It also gets rid of older cheaper rentals replacing them with more expensive newer rentals.

 

[Marsupial]

You've obviously never been on the receiving end of such a demand.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a well regulated, council owned rental property. It was our home, and still is my mother's home. We had full secure tenancy for life.

So neither have you. Good that we've established that.

Now all that remains is your explanation of the difference between being rich and being wealthy.

 

[Marsupial]

This is, indeed, the core of the problem. Private landlords, may be petrified, but with rents at record highs and prices still rising, renters are even more scared.
Maybe, we need a little more intervention from the state, instead of this blind faith in the market.

Rory Hearne: Why is Nama not being used to address housing emergency?

The failure to use land owned by Nama to resolve the housing crisis is a failure of government policy, writes Dr Rory Hearne

www.irishexaminer.com

The problem with that - and other - PbP/Hearne articles in the Examiner and The Journal (who appear ro publish them uncritiaclly on a regular basis, presumably because they're being provided free of charge) is that he has this delusion (shared by many others on the left) that there exists a massive pool of developers and unemployed builders in Ireland who simply can't wait to be let loose at a range of social housing sites around the country! It's rather like the Sinn Fein/Soc Dem delusion that there are literally hundreds of unemployed nurses and doctors who just can't wait to join the HSE! Pipe dreams.

 

[AlbacoreA]

People seem to forget that the private rental market didn't want to service social housing and affordable housing. They were content to stick to private rentals. Hence the adverts saying saying no rent allowance, hap etc. Looking for job reference's.

But the legislation was changed to force the private market to service that market. Now they want it run the same as public, state housing.

Somehow they can't see why that's a problem.

 

[The Horseman]

If you are talking about REITs, then they have to pass on their profits to the shareholders - and the shareholders have to pay income tax on that so it is not exactly as taxless as you imply

Only if the shareholders are Irish tax residents and in the main they are not. Alot of the REIT funds come from foreign pension funds.

 

[AlbacoreA]

This is not solely an Irish problem. There was a shift to drive housing as a financial vehicle all over the world. At the same time a shift away from public housing, to outsourcing into the private market. Again all over the world. With local variations.

The Irish economic growth was not solely down to construction either. There has also been a huge shift from agriculture to other industries.

GDP by Sector Quarterly National Accounts Quarter 4 2020 - Central Statistics Office

www.cso.ie

 

[PebbleBeach2020]

Most landlords regard the property as their house

Really?! How bloody dare they?! Imagine paying for an asset and regarding it as your own. What planet are you on?!