Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has commented on the latest rental report from DAFT.ie which shows that the dysfunction in the rental market continues and that the report is not good news for renters.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“The DAFT.ie rental report for the first quarter of 2021 shows that across the state the average asking rent is up almost 2%.

“While the report also shows that asking prices are down by 6.5% in Dublin City, this is a consequence of the shift in working patterns due to the pandemic, which has also seen rental prices rise considerably outside of Dublin.

“For example, the year on year increases in the other cities including Waterford, Cork and Limerick and Galway are 8.3%, 6.3, 6.3% and 6.1% respectively.

“Outside of the main cities rents are also rising, Kerry has seen an increase of 10%, Roscommon 9%, Clare 9% and Sligo and Leitrim by just over 8%.

“These shifts in prices are a reflection of an increase of supply in Dublin due to people moving home or due to people getting fed up of the extortionate rental prices and due to remote working they can work outside the city.

“Unfortunately for many people remote working is not an option and a 6% drop 18 months into a pandemic in reality will not make a huge difference to these people.

“Furthermore, it is also important to note that the Daft report reflects asking rents and we have yet to see evidence from the RTB reports that would indicate that existing rents are falling at a similar rate.  

“This dysfunctional rental market is getting worse. Fine Gael did nothing to offer stability and certainty to tenants. A year into Darragh O’Brien’s tenure we haven’t seen any measures to tackle the rental crisis being brought forward. In fact, Minister O’Brien’s contribution has been to strip renters of vital Covid 19 protections.

“Sinn Féin has the solutions as outlined in our Dáil motion last week. We need to ban increases for three years followed by rent certainty.  Tenancies of indefinite duration should be immediately introduced.  We must also double capital investment in the provision of social and affordable housing and deliver 8,000 affordable homes per year, with 4,000 of these to be cost rental.”