The Government is expected to extend rent controls to the whole country, setting the rent cap at 2 per cent for existing tenancies or the rate of inflation for new builds.
After a meeting of the party leaders, budget ministers Paschal Donohoe and Jack Chambers and Minister for Housing James Browne this evening, Government sources confirmed that landlords would not be able to reset rent between tenancies – unless tenants leave voluntarily or have breached the tenancy agreement.
Housing advocates had warned the Government that allowing landlords to reset the rent between tenancies would result in many tenancies being terminated by the landlords in order to increase the rents.
That avenue now appears to have been shut off, however, according to three sources familiar with the plans.
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One senior Government source conceded that landlords might be less happy with the final package than with earlier versions which have been speculated on in recent days.
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The details of the package circulating on Monday night suggested a significant expansion of tenants’ rights, rather than a big win for landlords and investors.
The Cabinet is expected to agree to extend the current rent pressure zones to cover the entire country when it meets at Government Buildings on Tuesday morning. There is also expected to be measures to strengthen protection for tenants, including strong security of tenure and prohibiting “no fault” evictions in the case of large landlords.
It is expected that there will be different rules for small and large landlords, with smaller landlords described as those who have three or fewer rental properties.
There will not be a ban on no-fault evictions for small landlords.
Asked how the proposals would serve to boost supply of apartments for rent – a key objective of the Government – one source briefed on the plans said that new build apartments would have no rent cap, apart from the rate of inflation, and that the ability of landlords to reset the rent where tenants leave voluntarily would also be of benefit to landlords.
But the details circulating on Monday night were less advantageous to landlords than Opposition politicians have been warning about.
“This is just one of a series of measures we’ll be taking in the coming weeks to boost supply,” a Government source said.
Another senior figure said that these measures on their own did not close the “viability gap” which has resulted in a steep decline in the numbers of apartments being built. The source said, however, that a series of other measures would be brought forward soon
