Losing Focus

at

90367963
focus

Joan Burton (top) and Focus Ireland’s warning (above)

Rents in Dublin increase by 20 per cent.

No rent supplement increase since April 2013

Why?

According to the Department of Social Affairs:

increasing the rent limits would have several potentially negative effects, including:  providing an impetus for current Rent Supplement landlords to renegotiate their lease agreements to the new limits, impacting on all existing recipients; and Creating new rental floors for all properties in the sector, meaning rent increases for those not in receipt of Rent Supplement. These would include many individuals and families who would struggle with such increases, such as low-income workers and students…

Focus Ireland respond:

The Tánaiste’s decision not to make any increase in the maximum rents payable by households in receipt of Rent Supplement will effectively sign the eviction notice for hundreds of families over the coming months.

We believe that this report [Review of Rent Levels]  has no credibility as an objective review of the income levels which households which rely on social welfare need to hold onto their homes. It is essentially a statement of how the destitution of households dependent on Rent Supplement is to be used as a crude measure to moderate rents in the private rented sector

For over a year, we have been drawing attention to the fact that the levels of Rent Supplement have fallen well behind the actual rents required by landlords. This has resulted in substantial increases in general homelessness, and unprecedented homelessness among families.

Over 100 families have lost their homes and been forced to live in emergency B&Bs or hotel rooms in the first two months of this year alone. Virtually all of these families have become homeless due to rising rents in the private rented sector.

The Review of Rent Supplement levels published by the Department of Social Protection  sets out extensive and detailed evidence that rents have escalated in every area of the country since the last review over 20 months ago. It notes that the average increase over this period is over 14% and that the increase in the areas where people who rely on Rent supplement live have been even higher.

Since the middle of 2014, the Tánaiste has stated that the impact of rising rents was ‘under review’, the publication of this report draws to an end the pretence that she is going to make an effective policy response to this crisis. She is not going to give these household the resources to pay the market rents that their landlords are requiring.

The purpose of the Rent Supplement scheme is to provide support to people whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs. However the Department appear to be using the Rent Supplement scheme to achieve a range of other goals, with very negative consequences on those who depend on the scheme to provide their home.

We intend on seeking legal advice as to whether the Department of Social Protection is acting outside its legal remit in failing to give adequate priority to the objectives of the scheme as set down in legislation.

FIGHT!

Focus ireland (Facebook)

Sponsored Link

37 thoughts on “Losing Focus

  1. ReproBertie

    “increasing the rent limits would have several potentially negative effects, including: providing an impetus for current Rent Supplement landlords to renegotiate their lease agreements to the new limits”
    When they reduced the rent limits they told tenants to renogiate the lease with landlords.

    Sauce for the goose, no?

  2. Just sayin'

    Any general rent supplement increase would go straight into the pockets on landlords and fuel yet higher rents. Surely it is better to give increases based on individual need. Painting this as a Government just giving it to poor people is the simplistic thinking I’ve come to expect from broadsheet’s editors.

  3. Seanban

    The state made a decision to cease the construction & provision of social housing and chose to supplement into the private sector; the problem doesn’t go away, it just manifests quangos

  4. Soundings

    So, you can’t increase the rent allowance for the 75,000-odd in receipt of rent allowance, even though they account for just 20% of the private rented market?

    So, if food and electricity prices were to rocket by 20%, there’d be no justification in increasing the pension or unemployment benefit?

    Clowns! I’m just ashamed to live in a country where the clowns are so well paid.

  5. fluffybiscuits

    FG/Lab abdicated their responsbility in sorting out the housing issue. Ireland needs two things

    -rental cap for properties spiralling out of control
    -more social housing

    1. realPolithicks

      I totally agree, and the obvious thing to start with is rent control. Put a cap on what landlords can charge, even if its only a temporary one to deal with the current crisis. Of course a right wing government such as this one would never do this.

  6. Starina

    once again using sleight-of-hand to make us look at the poor while the rich (landlords) continue to take the p*ss

    1. ReproBertie

      Not all landlords are rich ffs. There are plenty of landlords who are only landlords because they couldn’t sell their properties in crash and are just about covering their costs.

      There are also plenty of landlords who are sitting TDs and will make damn sure to protect their interests at every turn.

      1. Funk

        I don’t even cover my costs. About 65% of my costs.

        Anyway. I still agree with rent controls and would be happy to abide by them.

  7. Vote Rep #1

    An increase of Rent Supplement would just mean an increase of rents for all other properties as well. They are right not to do it. They need to sort out the state of the rental market as a whole rather then throw more petrol on it.

  8. ollie

    And proof that the government are unable legally to get involved in the rental market. joan burton, hot smoke, ass!

  9. YourNan

    u first need to find a landlord in Dublin who still takes rent supplements recipients, good luck with that.

  10. Mr. T.

    Labour, more Fine Gael than Fine Gael themselves.

    Tax the lower earners.
    Give massive tax breaks to business and property owners.
    Drive down wages by introducing Jobbridge.
    Force low waged and unemployed into the hands of private landlords.
    Split the nation by creating imagined division between various groups.
    Use PR instead of having politicians speaking directly to their electorate.
    Put the interests of international businesses and merchant banks before the interests of the citizen.
    Privatise national assets according to IMF demands (nothing to do with improving society).
    Controlling state broadcaster and use your mates to control private media.

    1. Christopher

      Definitely a big part of the problem in the past 5 years- rents would have gone WAY lower if there was not this artificial floor put on prices.

      Now though, even if they raised them it wouldn’t make a difference- there is not enough rental supply in Dublin at the minute and the population keeps growing due to it being just about the only place people can get jobs in the country and the increased immigration from abroad of foreign tech workers and language school/ low paid skivies.

      The answer is simple start forcing land owners to build NOW. I live in D1 and the number of empty lots EVERYWHERE is a complete joke. Use it or tax them to the hilt.

  11. Drogg

    Rents increase 20% in the worst parts of dublin they have increased so much more in a lot of areas, but we will still no see legislation for rent control cause we have a government full of slum lords.

  12. No, the other one

    Controversial idea but how about people rent in areas they can afford to rent?
    We both work full time and bought a house in a crap area because we couldn’t afford anything else. Now we need to move and will have to rent in outer suburbs or beyond in order to afford even though we are both working. Oh and I’ll become one of these ‘evil landlords’ you enjoy maligning so much…Why should my income subsidise people to stay in their ‘communities’ – no one cares or cared that I can’t afford to rent or buy in the community where I grew up. Why do we continue to handle certain sections of society with kid gloves while others are treated like blood sucking leeches on society when in fact the opposite is true?

    1. ionabike

      Neither controversial, original or related in anyway to reality. You appear to have options. You should be thankful for that rather than being a miserable git maligning those less fortunate than you.

  13. tomkildare

    An economics lesson for every 1. To solve housing crisis we need to build around 40K homes per year nationally. Then sell them to first time buyers and landlords so the can rent then to people who cant afford to buy. Or build vasts amounts of social housing at a crazy costs to government and create more ballymuns jobstown ect, To build there homes, builders need to make a profit or they wont build. For landlords to buy homes to rent out they need to make a profit trough good rents.

    In Dublin the site and build cost of a modern 2 bed apartment is at least 230K before builders profit. Cost of building with all the taxes and charges are crazy(40% of a new house is tax). House prices are still too cheap and will keep going up and up till builders can make a profit that is around 270K on a 2 bed apartment and rents will keep rising until we build these new houses.

    Rent caps will push existing landlords out of the business of letting homes and stop new entries to the business. And rent caps wouldn’t be that bad for landlords as they would take existing rent levels and allow for inflation of 3to 5% per year increases that would be granted.

    1. Real Joe

      Or ship em all to Leitrim, I’m OK with sacrificing one county for the good of the state, if they need a second county they can have Laois.

  14. Real Joe

    It’s an f’d if you increase it and a f’d if you don’t increase it scenario. Increase it and the struggling non benefit receiving private renter will see an increase down the line (they aren’t bluffing it will happen), don’t increase it and the benefit receiving renter suffers. The only winner in either situation is the private landlord. Really shows that the state should own all social housing and private landlords should be limited to the private rental market.

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie