From top: Construction of modular homes, Ballymun; Dr Rory Hearne
What to ask candidates on the doorstep about housing.
Should they come to your home.
Should you have a home.
Dr Rory Hearne writes:
The election has been called – so now you are probably thinking about who you might for and what are the issues you should think about in deciding how to vote…(And of course you are going to vote – the future of the country is at stake…well, maybe not quite but it is a bloody important election to decide who runs the country for the next five years!) .
When it comes to thinking about why and how you might vote – shouldn’t the current housing crisis be a key deciding factor?
You are probably affected by it yourself – either as a renter, someone looking to buy, already paying a huge mortgage or maybe you are homeless and living in emergency accommodation.
Despite all the talk of a ‘recovery’ the housing crisis is getting worse. It should be a national emergency.
Having a home (and particularly fair rent and home ownership) are issues that have defined this country from the colonial times and the famine evictions to the Celtic Tiger and property crash that busted the country. Today housing is again is an issue that is defining us as to what type of country we are and what we want to be.
The housing crisis is a scandal that the government wants to ignore but it could be the very thing that stops them from being re-elected. The failure to address the housing crisis could very well be Fine Gael & Labour’s Achille’s heel.
Here are some of the groups affected by the housing crisis:
Renters facing high rents (at the moment in Dublin there are reports of ‘bidding’ wars between renters trying to find a place to live)
Young people and families unable to buy a home due to rising house prices (couples are being forced to put off having children while they try get a home)
People in mortgage arrears or mortgage distress (there are still 37,000 homeowners in long term arrears and facing repossession – we don’t hear much of their plight – do we? But then they might interfere with all the positive talk of ‘recovery’!
Over 90,000 on social housing waiting lists –stuck in poor quality or unaffordable private rented accommodation
1,500 children and their families are homeless. At the current rate of families becoming homeless there will be more than 6,000 children in emergency accommodation by 2017.
Travellers left in substandard accommodation & asylum seekers left in poor conditions in Direct Provision
Here are three questions you might want to ask the politicians about the housing crisis when they come knocking on your door:
Question 1: What has the government done about the housing crisis in their five years of power?
Question 2. What could a new government do to solve the housing crisis?
Question3. Will a new Fine Gael and Labour government do what is needed to be done?
To help you give them a grilling after they’ve given you their ‘wishy-washy’ response I will now give you some detailed answers to challenge them.
My answer to Q 1.
The Fine Gael/Labour government actually made a bad housing crisis worse. Here’s how they did it:
They wouldn’t stand up to the landlords and so they didn’t control private rent increases or sufficiently strengthen tenant’s rights to longer leases. The two year ‘freeze’ is doing nothing to stop new rental property price increases and when it finishes next year rents will sky rocket again.
They cut the budgets for social housing/local authority building which meant that over the period of government they had the lowest level of social housing building in over 40 years (even lower than the recession in the 1980s) (see graph above).
They didn’t increase the rent allowance to match rising rents which forced families and children into homelessness
They left 100,000s struggling in mortgage arrears with huge personal stress and facing repossession.
They wouldn’t challenge the property industry and so allowed developers and builders sit on vacant land. The government introduced a vacant site tax but it doesn’t come into force until 2019! So builders can keep supply low to force prices to rise so they can increase their profits.
They failed to use NAMA to provide affordable or social housing. The government continued to support NAMA (created by Fianna Fail) to sell off housing (such as the promised 20,000 ‘starter homes’) and land to international vulture funds rather than for Irish people who need the housing
They privatised social housing provision onto the private rented sector– which has reduced private rental supply. Three quarters of the housing in the governments ‘social housing’ strategy is to come from the private rented sector.
They have helped create the ‘shoe box’ tenement apartments of the future. They reduced housing building standards by lowering the apartment size regulations.
They have opposed the new Central Bank mortgage lending rules that are keeping house prices affordable. The new rules are the one positive change that has been implemented – it has slowed down house prices rising and thus keeping them more affordable. Yet this is the very policy the government (and Michael Noonan in particular) opposed.
Answer to Q 2.
So what could a new government do differently to solve the housing crisis?
The core of an alternative housing policy would be for the government to do six key things:
1) Implement rent control/certainty –where rent increases are linked to inflation and/or affordability & quality indexes) & give tenants the right to long term secure leases
2) Create a new Homes and Housing Agency (NAMA could be changed into this) to build affordable and social housing.
3) Create a new State Housing Bank to finance housing and provide affordable mortgages for people.
4) Hold a referendum to put The Right to housing and a home in the constitution
5) Change NAMA’s mandate to invest in social and affordable housing rather than offices and selling to vulture funds.
6) Bring forward the vacant site tax to force builders and developers use vacant land to build and introduce the famous 1974 Kenny Report to control the speculation on the price of land
This would create a housing system that is based on meeting people’s need for a home and not based onrelying on the private market – which is the property industry and speculators – which has failed over and over to provide affordable and secure housing. The private housing market just provides super profits for developers, banks, estate agents, solicitors and speculators.
We need to move away from mortgaged home ownership and housing being an asset of wealth, a commodity, a speculative piece of ‘property’. Instead the housing market should be strongly regulated with price and profit controls and there should be a new approach to funding provision of affordable, ‘not for profit’, cooperative and social housing.
That will mean standing up to the property development industry, landlords and all those who currently profit from the existing housing mess. It also means Irish people changing their attitude to property and ownership and understanding that the current obsession with home ownership mainly benefits the wealthy, the banks and property industry.
Irish housing system should, in the first instance, ensure affordable, high quality, homes are available to every citizen.
Answer to Q 3.
These housing problems didn’t start with this Government. Governments during the Celtic Tiger boom years lead by Fianna Fail also caused the crisis by prioritising the ‘mortgaged home ownership’ developer-led housing system. When the crash happened they created NAMA to bail out developers, bondholders and the banks but left ordinary people to pay for it all.
But Fine Gael and Labour continued Fianna Fail’s housing policies and have shown they won’t do anything radically different on housing policy. It just shows there is no real political difference between these three establishment parties.
Fine Gael is a party of the landlords, the wealthy and property industry. Interestingly, it has the highest number of TDs who are landlords with 24 TDs. Fianna Fáil has 12 landlords, Labour has ten, while Minister for Environment Alan Kelly is also a “landlord”.
Fine Gael who are strong believers in the ‘right-wing’, laissez-faire, ‘free-market’ approach to economics don’t believe in interfering with landlords and land owners ‘right’ to profit from property speculation and ownership. So who’s interests will they represent?
The Labour party have shown that they are either unable or unwilling to do anything different (the best example of this is Labour Minister for Environment, Alan Kelly’s failure to achieve rent control in the face of Michael Noonan’s opposition).
Of course they will blame the Irish people for voting for these policies.
So when they come knocking this time tell them you want something different – you want housing to be a human right, provided to meet people’s needs and not the greed and profits of estate agents, developers, landlords and vulture funds. And vote with who you think will do that.
Maybe then we will get a government that actually does something positive about Ireland’s permanent (and repeating) housing crisis.
Dr Rory Hearne is a Senior Policy Analyst with TASC, the Think-Tank for Action on Social Change. His column appears here every Wednesday. Follow Rory on Twitter: @roryhearne
Top pic: Rollingnews
Housing is definitely my number 1 question to any canvassers.
Not sure about the Right to Housing wthin the constitution though, would just like to see some studies on the possible implications of such a right, i.e. beyond the obvious. The constitution is not something that should be amended lightly (thouhg of course will require a referendum anyway)
Right to Housing in the Constitution! Yipee! I see a house I like in Dalkey that the taxpayer can buy for me once we get that in the Constitution. I’d also like to start a Right to Yachting and a Right to Ski Lodge amendment campaign. Can you help me with those Dr Rory?
facetious and you know it
Straw men are all people like that have to go on. Nobody takes people like him seriously. Don’t worry about it.
And with good reason, dearie.
while i agree with the thrust of the article – i take issue with the idea that rents from private landlords should be controlled. This is crap. We have allowed a provate rental sector to become a business – people have invested in this and it’s crass to attempt to have their potential to dictate their own terms.
I fully agree on nama though – let the state release property owned by the state for the people to rent. that’ll soften the up turn in rent naturally through supply and demand rather than imposing limits on rental income by law.
despite my misgivings on that point – the rest I can get behind
Finally someone supporting the prudence coming from the central bank on mortgage rules. there is scant support from all the vest interests looking to make money/get elected!
4) Hold a referendum to put The Right to housing and a home in the constitution
Absolutely ridiculous, firstly everyone has access to housing technaically anyway, putting this is constitution is meaaningless
Dr Hearne, some facts you overlooked:
1. Rent controls are unconstitutional
2. Mortgage interest rates are twice the European average. Government could fix this in 5 minutes.
3. Landlords (accidental or otherwise) have been screwed over by this government in exorbitant taxes.
4. Without landlords there would be no private rental sector.
4. Rents are no higher now than they were in 2007. Affordability is in the main down to lower incomes as a result of wage cuts and tax increases.
Excise me, but my experience of Irish landlords is that they are Extortionate Scum and they need rent controls to hold back their predatory instincts. The Government should be making life hell for multiple property owning landlords (I’m more forgiving on single property owning landlords). Slap more taxes and restrictions on them as they cannot control their greed.
Excuse me, I meant. Ha!
Consider yourself excised
Professional multi-property owning landlords are exactly what’s needed over the amateur who’s in over his head and raising rents because he can’t afford the mortgage.
The Housing market is a total disaster for tenants and first time buyers! And it affects whether people can afford Healthcare, a pension, and loads of other knock on effects. I will be eating the heads off politicians from FG and Labour who come to my door, and FF of course.
TDs who also make an income from owning a rental property portfolio have a conflict when it comes to matters and decisions regarding housing, rent control, etc.
Conflicts of interest:
TD landlords, deciding on rental market policy
TD publicans, who agreed to increase the price of take out alcohol
TD farmers, giving themselves grant after grant
TD bondholders
And then there’s the constituency staff, aka family)
There is no single issue which affects more people in the country than this. It should therefore be the no.1 topic of the election but the main parties will do their level best to avoid it.
Rory is correct. They should be challenged at every doorstep.
Government needs to stay out of property. The corpo in Dublin is currently competing against regular house buyers. Using tax payers money to compete with taxpayers. This boosts house prices. Stay out of it!!! You bail out banks with cheap cash and they misspend on property. They inflate bubbles. The state needs to stay out of banks too. There is no supply and demand based ‘price discovery’ due to too much state intervention at too many levels.
There will always be instability as long as this continues. But state intervention is a global thing now. Some markets would collapse without it. Unfortunately it will take another 2008 style crisis to give people the impetus for change.
From Above
“They wouldn’t stand up to the landlords and so they didn’t control private rent increases or sufficiently strengthen tenant’s rights to longer leases. The two year ‘freeze’ is doing nothing to stop new rental property price increases and when it finishes next year rents will sky rocket again.”
They wouldn’t stand up to Landlords because they ARE the landlords, or else its in their wives names, or pets names. Still corrupt
Speaking as a landlord who charges 25% below the “market rate”, because I value good tenants who respect me and my property more than a few extra euro, I think that the solution is the removal of rent allowance in totality. Let the market decide the price without any government interference.
For every €1 in rent the government takes 50c, therefore a drop in rent of €100 a month is only around a tenner a week less in the landlord’s pocket.
As for this morning’s pathetic attempt at vote grabbing by promising to pay low paid Dublin workers 30% of their rent, bring it on as it will just drive rents up.
HA! Going by your attitude on here, I’ve trouble believing you’re the angel you think you are. Would LOVE to hear what your tenants actually think about you.
Ive know Rory since he described himself in a letter to the Times 15 years ago as “one of Ireland’s Leading Anti Capitalists”.
Rory Pro Tip, unless you hold a medical degree drop the “Doctor” from your name, it only impresses the vacant, and everyone else sees it as a pompous blow hard trying to self inflate their own importance.
Which after all you’d never do, being one of “Ireland’s Leading Anti Capitalists.”
15 years ago? What was he, 20/21? You’re going to judge a man on how he was as an idealistic 21 year old? You must be the brains in your group. And you might want to have a word with the entire academic industry about their using of the term ‘doctorate’.
15 years doesn’t seem to have taught Dr Rory much.
I was making a point about how Mr Ahearn in his youth pompously referred to himself as a “leading anti capitalist” and today he refers to himself as “Doctor Ahern”. Someone who has earned a doctorate is of course entitled to refer to themselves as “Doctor” however in academia it is generally frowned upon for people to insist on the title of Doctor unless it’s a medical doctorate. It’s pompous and generally used by people who wish to inflate their self importance.
“was making a point about how Mr Ahearn in his youth pompously referred to himself as a “leading anti capitalist” and today he refers to himself as “Doctor Ahern”.”
And what in the name of Jayzus does him calling himself an anti capitalist when he was a 21 year old student have to do with his title of doctor today?
“in academia it is generally frowned upon for people to insist on the title of Doctor unless it’s a medical doctorate.”
That’s just a lie. You know who finds it pompous and arrogant? People with self esteem issues who lack an ability to reason so they just lash out at people saying things they don’t like. Like you just did there.
actually, i’d agree that an academic who calls themself a ‘Doctor’ is pretty arrogant. it’s only one step up from sticking your qualification initials after your name.
Step 1: go to Copenhagen and see how the do it
Step 2: copy it in Ireland.
It’s the fact that he called himself in a letter to the Irish Times “One of Ireland’s Leading Anti Capitalists” .
And it’s not a lie. Addressing yourself as Doctor without a MD (unless you’re i say for example, attending conference in your field, or writing a paper in your field) is very uncouth.
I asked you what the hell it has to do with him being a doctor. ‘I remember when A.N Other used to have a dog and these days he calls himself a teacher?’ What you’re saying is equally as bizarre as that.
And it most certainly a lie. There are plenty of academics who use their doctorate in their title. You’re just upset that someone qualified is criticising your government so you need to attack him personally as you don’t have the brains to tackle the content of what he’s saying.
you seem easily confused. It was the “leading” in “leading anti capitalist” that I found pompous and self aggrandising.
Yes you’re correct many academics insist on being called “Doctor”, many academics believe and do stupid things too. I generally find it a good rule of thumb to assume that person if a person insists on being addressed as “Doctor”, they are very keen to present themselves as authoritative and self important. Something like describing themselves as a “Ireland’s leading anti capitalist”.
All I was saying that in my opinion, Rory should simply refer to himself as Mr Ahern, and allow his arguments to stand or fall on their own merits, without his self aggrandising title.
PS Rory, well done on receiving your doctorate.
8den, I think perhaps your problem might be with the sub-editor on Broadsheet.ie rather than with the author
Thursday, 28 January 2016
Department of Finance
Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) [87] . To ask the Minister for Finance if the Government is accepting the €2 billion offer from the Irish League of Credit Unions to build social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3644/16]
Michael Noonan (Minister, Department of Finance; Limerick City, Fine Gael)
As I previously advised the Deputy, the credit union sector is aware of the need to consider ways of increasing its income and developing its business model. I am pleased that this topic is being seriously considered and that various options are being explored by the sector.
My Department has received a number of proposals in relation to social housing. While the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is the Department primarily responsible for the formulation and implementation of policy and for the preparation of legislation in relation to housing, Department of Finance officials are working closely with them.
While these proposals are at an early stage of development, a number of meetings were held with officials from both Departments to examine how credit unions can assist in the area of social housing.
I should point out that any such proposals are subject to the approval of the Registrar of Credit Unions at the Central Bank of Ireland who is the independent regulator for the credit union sector.
Section 44 of the Credit Union Act, 1997 provides that a credit union may establish a special fund to be used by the credit union for, social, cultural or charitable purposes by a resolution passed by a majority of its members present and voting at a general meeting. Where individual credit unions intend to establish such a fund the Central Bank would expect the credit union to take account of the need to ensure the protection of the funds of its members.
Commencement of the remaining sections of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 on 1 January 2016 provides the Registrar of Credit Unions with the power to make regulations in relation to investments in projects of a public nature. This is specifically referenced in legislation and therefore such investments could be facilitated by future regulations, where appropriate, when there are specific proposals put forward by the credit union sector.
Prior to commencement of the legislation, following consultation between the Department of Finance and the Central Bank during the course of discussion on CP88, the Central Bank agreed to a modification in relation to this matter. Regulation 25(2) makes reference to the fact that the Central Bank may prescribe, in accordance with s43 of the Credit Union Act 1997, further classes of investments for credit unions which may include investments in projects of a public nature. The regulation provides that investment in projects of a public nature include, but are not limited to, investments in social housing projects.
While the Government recognises the important role of credit unions as a volunteer co-operative movement in this country, the Government’s priorities remain the protection of members’ savings, the financial stability of credit unions and the sector overall and it is absolutely determined to support a strengthened and growing credit union movement.
If we want the government to sort out uncontrollable rent increases, we should stop voting for landlords.
Dr Rory on the one hand is in favour of Central Bank rules which limit the amount of money that can be borrowed, thus forcing potential buyers into rented accommodation which is in increasingly short supply, while on the other decries the situation where said reducing supply is competed over by increasing numbers of potential tenants without understanding that the latter is a product of the former.
Is his PhD in ‘Why when you’re playing Jenga you should be able to take out any blocks you like without the others falling’?
Dr Boba Fettucine is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Banbridge Women’s Institute Committee Againt Things In The World That Are Not Fair, But Should Be.
“Dr Rory on the one hand is in favour of Central Bank rules which limit the amount of money that can be borrowed, thus forcing potential buyers into rented accommodation”
Yep –
http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2015/02/02/the-central-banks-new-rules-simply-make-life-even-easier-for-those-who-are-already-wealthy
‘So who’s interests will they represent?’
That should be ‘whose’ Doc. Just saying.. I feel like I could be a doctor myself sometimes.
Hold a referendum to put The Right to housing and a home in the constitution???
Is this another “right” no corresponding responsibility i.e. I’ve no responsibility to seek to provide these things for myself? Will this right be a personal right, a collective right? Do I have a right to both a “house and a home”? So my home could be in Dublin but do i also have a right to a house in Clare? I’ll assume you meant that your house would be your home.
Given it’s going to be a “constitutional” right, my wife must also have the same rights in her own individual capacity. Great, that’s 2 houses for us.
What about kids, if we have 2 kids, I presume they also have a constitutional right to a house. Bingo, 4 houses in this family. We will be the Donald Trumps of Ireland at this rate!
Now, with respect to the location of these houses my wife & I and our future kids are to get, we’d like them located in South Dublin as that’s where we’d call “home” ………..[the leafy parts too, none of those dodgy areas beginning with Bally, Tall or Drim etc].
In short, I think this is the most populist, ludicrous, ill-conceived, legally impossible recommendation.
Your comment on the Central Bank rules though is spot on.
+1
But hey, not as if we’ve ever jammed unsuitable things into the Constitution that we’ve ever regretted about 30 years later… Oh wait.
I bought a house when I was relatively young (mid-20s). Always felt I was being silently judged by others in my social group (“all property is theft” etc)
I saw the same people pursing their lips when I said I preferred driving to work rather than taking public transport. A couple of them still haven’t learned to drive and they’re in their mid 40s by now.
U on tinder?
The illustration accompanying this article is captioned ” Construction of modular homes, Ballymun”. I’m pretty sure those multi-storey units aren’t ‘modular homes’!
I’m not sure why everyone is so focused on social housing when the entire market is deliberately skewed towards developers and builders? There is plenty of things a government can do to empower ordinary working people but they just don’t seem to want to do it. It really is the elephant in the room and is the single biggest upwards wealth distribution system in the country.