Local rental crisis is not being addressed: Brian Stanley

Speaking on a Sinn Féin’s Private Members Bill on the private rental sector in the Dáil on Wednesday, Laois/Offaly TD Brian Stanley accused the Government of failing to grasp the scale of the housing and rental crisis.

He said it had failed to properly regulate against spiralling rent hikes, whilst failing to deliver affordable rental homes at the scale required in Laois or Offaly.

"Despite Covid, rents in Laois are up 3.4% in the last 12 months, with an average of €754 for a one bedroom and €964 for a 3 bedroom home. Offaly has seen an ever sharper increase of 6.6%," he continued.

“Rents as steep as €1,200 being demanded for a 3 bedroom home in some locations in the constituency.

"Families are being trapped in rental accommodation with spiralling rents. A family of four can’t get on the council housing waiting list if they earn over €528 a week and a couple without children can’t have an income above €504.

"At the same time their income is too low to get a mortgage.

This is totally unsustainable. Sinn Féin wants to deliver solutions for these workers and their families who are trapped in the middle.’’

“The government has no plan for the rental sector. Sinn Féin does. We want to deal with the rental crisis on one hand and secondly to deliver long term affordable homes to buy and rent.

Stanley said his party in government would implement an emergency, three-year ban on rent increases.

In Laois and Offaly, only Graigue-Portarlington, Portlaoise and Tullamore fall under the Municipal District Rent Pressure Zone criteria and even in those areas rents can increase 4.5%. This is unsustainable for ordinary working families and it needs to be halted

Sinn Féin says it would introduce a refundable tax credit of 8.5% for tenants in the private rented sector to put a month’s rent back in every renter's pocket.

It says it would commit to delivering at least 4,000 affordable and cost rental homes in 2022.