The Minister for the Environment says he is not ruling out rent controls in the future. Minister Alan Kelly told Newstalk Lunchtime today that, despite reports to the contrary, he has never ruled out rent control and “it’s something that will be continuously looked at.”
Yesterday’s Budget allocated €2.2bn to a new social housing programme, but there have since been criticism of the government’s failure to offer anything to protect people in private rented accommodation from rising rental prices.
Pat Doyle CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, said earlier today: "We are disappointed that the Government decided no to increase rent supplement levels or introduce measures to stop rental prices increasing beyond the reach of many people. We hope that the Government will revisit this issue as it is essential that rent supplement levels more closely reflect the cost of private market rents."
Last month rental prices in Dublin were up 12.1 per cent on the same three month period last year. Outside Dublin the icnrase was a far calmer 3.2 per cent for apartments. The average rent for an apartment in Dublin is now €1,134, according to the Quarterly Rent Index of the Private Residential Tenancies Board.
At the end of September Minister Kelly told the Irish Examiner:
“In the shorter term, (a rent freeze) is not an action I foresee. When you sit in this office, you have to be realistic, you have to manage expectations.
“From my research and looking at it, there would be substantial legal concerns in relation to constitutional issues about a rent freeze. We have a lot of legal advice here and are also getting more.”
Speaking with Jonathan Healy on Newstalk Lunchtime today, Minister Kelly said there remains a possibility of rental controls, although the idea has previously fallen down as not constitutional, and that could be an issue again.
“I actually haven’t ruled (rent control) out, despite reports in other places,” Minister Kelly said.
“It’s something that will be continuously looked at. But to be fair and honest with you, I want to be sure I can deliver something that’s possible.
“We’ve looked at this in a number of ways down the years. Previous governments have looked at this. There has been constitutional issues here.
“There was a problem in the early 80s from the constitutional point of view of bringing such a move in, so while it is being looked at, and it is continuously being looked at. I need to ensure whatever I do in the area is doable, is constitutional.
“Also, I want to make sure that we use every mechanism possible to address the problem we have, particularly in urban areas in relation to rent. And the biggest way of doing that is increasing supply,” Minister Kelly said.
Kelly pointed to the €2.2bn allocated to social housing by Finance Minister Michael Noonan, calling it “the largest housing programme, probably in the history of the state”.
“Yesterday was almost the appetiser in relation to social housing... It was a massive undertaking,” Minister Kelly said.
“We have a problem in social housing, there’s no point in saying we don’t. The idea that local authorities under government direction got out of providing and building social housing in the past I think was absolutely and completely wrong.”
Listen to Minister Alan Kelly on Lunchtime:
