Urgent appeals for radical new regulations to protect tenants from landlords
There are calls for Ireland to become a country that mainly rents from the state.
A new housing policy from the Workers' Party calls for Ireland to follow the lead of countries like Denmark and Austria in which a majority of people rent their homes - mostly from the state.
The report, "Homes for All: A Public Housing Revolution," will be launched at Wynn's Hotel at 7.30pm this evening (Thursday) by long-time housing campaigner Máirín de Búrca and Viennese housing campaigner Jakob Hundsbichler.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Workers' Party Cllr. Éilis Ryan said: "What our report shows clearly, is that the only European capital cities with stable - that is, affordable and adequate - housing supplies are those in which the norm is for people to rent - not own - their own home, and where most rental accommodation is either owned or heavily regulated by the state."
She said:"The CSO estimates we need 70,000 new homes over the next decade to meet demand. These should all be funded and built by the state, and rented to people on every income, paying according to their need."
The policy also calls for extensive state intervention to drive down rents in the private rental sector.
She said:"We are proposing a radical new system of maximum rents, in which the maximum allowable rent of any one-bedroom apartment coming onto the market is linked to 30% of the average income. That works out at around €700 / month. We combine new, tighter regulations, with the right for tenants to remain in their homes even if their landlord sells up."
She said:"If landlords choose to exit the rental market in large numbers, it provides an ideal opportunity for the state to step in, and drastically increase its housing stock by buying up these homes."
The policy's €11.2 billion public housing plan is fully costed. Report author and Workers' Party spokesperson Gavin Mendel-Gleason said: "Over a period of 25 years, renting or leasing public housing from a private landlord will average up to €1,000 / month, and subsidising "affordable home ownership" will cost €100,000 / home, or €330 / month over 25 years.
He said:"By contrast, we estimate that public, rented housing for all would cost the state far less - as little as €160 / month over 25 years. And, unlike the other options, the state would own all the housing it invests this money builds at the end of that 25 years."