Paul Murphy calls rental protection bill inadequate
Paul Murphy criticised the government's rental protection bill as failing to address the scale of looming rent increases and evictions. He said the proposal would protect only a few hundred while hundreds of thousands of tenants face hikes of €150–€200 a month and compounded increases up to 12%.
Critique of rental protection bill
Paul Murphy argued the so‑called rental protection bill does not tackle the real problem. He said the measure only safeguards a few hundred tenants, delays substantive protection until January, and still allows landlords to impose this year's and last year's rent hikes at that later date.
Scale of rent hikes highlighted
Murphy warned that many tenants face rises of €150 or €200 a month and that what would be unaffordable as an 8% increase becomes far worse when multiple increases are combined. He described the prospect of a 'triple hike' as a clear problem for affordability.
Evictions and housing insecurity
He also raised alarm about evictions following the lifting of the eviction ban, saying over 1,000 households have been given eviction notices in the past 10 months and that the situation could become a tsunami of evictions without real action.
Government and ministerial response
In reply, the Deputy Taoiseach said the Minister for Housing will extend legislation to protect tenants and those rendered vulnerable by COVID-19's impact on incomes. The Deputy Taoiseach noted 475 people have availed of that protection to date, added that a blanket ban on rent increases is not legally open to the Minister, and said the Minister will bring proposals before the House in relation to these rental issues.
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Last week's details of a so-called rental protection bill suggested that this would be a plan to stop double rent hikes that many tenants are facing in the next month, but the details of the plan fail to address the actual scale of the problem. Hundreds of thousands of tenants are living in fear of rent hikes of €150 or €200 a month, but the government's proposal will only protect a few hundred. Worse still, even for those few hundred, it kicks the can down the road to January and doesn't stop landlords imposing this year's rent hikes and last year's rent hikes at that point in time, i.e. up to 12%. If you accept that an 8% rent increase is unaffordable, then surely you can see the problem with a triple hike. As well as a wave of rent increases, we're seeing a wave of evictions now that the eviction ban is lifted. Over 1,000 households have been giving an eviction notice in the past 10 months. That will become a tsunami of evictions unless real action is taken. Thank you very much. Will you actually take action? Time is up, Deputy Taoiseach, please. Yes, as I said earlier, the Minister for Housing will be extending the legislation to protect tenants and to protect those who are vulnerable because of COVID-19 and the impact of COVID-19 on their incomes. And 475 people have availed of that protection to date. It's not open to the Minister constitutionally or legally to have a blanket ban on rent increases. It simply isn't open to the Minister. The Minister will be bringing proposals before the House in relation to these rental issues. Thank you.
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