Ireland's housing system is facing renewed pressure as proposed rental reforms raise concerns about unintended consequences for families, tenants and those entering nursing home care.

Unique Media’s Breda Brown, human rights campaigner and former One in Four director Colm O’Gorman, and Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon joined The Anton Savage Show as they focused on the impact of upcoming rental reforms amid an escalating housing emergency.

New rules due to come into effect on March 1 are designed to strengthen tenant protections, allowing renters to remain in a property for up to six years, even if the owner wants to sell.

Brown said the measures could create serious difficulties for families relying on the Fair Deal nursing home scheme.

“If you sell the property you’re going to have to sell the property with the tenants in situ,” she explained, warning this could reduce the value of a home and limit potential buyers.

“You’re probably going to end up selling to another landlord.”

Brown said families may be discouraged from renting out homes while a relative is in care, knowing they could be “tied in for six years."

That, she warned, could leave “an awful lot of empty properties sitting around the country at a time when we have a housing crisis.”

Gannon described the situation as “incredibly grim”, saying families are being forced to weigh care decisions against housing policy.

Photo: Jens Kalaene

While defending stronger tenant protections, he said the Fair Deal scheme could be treated differently.

“I don’t think this is an insurmountable problem,” he said. “It can be solved through some form of legislative amendment.”

O’Gorman said the issue was deeply emotive, particularly for older people entering nursing homes. Renting a home for six years, he said, could feel like saying, “I’m never going to go back there again,” adding that this would cause “huge reluctance” for many families.

The rights of renters

Despite the concerns, O’Gorman warned against weakening tenant rights.

“It would be horrendous if it was used as an excuse to get rid of security of tenure in the rental market,” he said, arguing that stronger protections were long overdue.

The panel also addressed the wider housing picture, with Gannon describing Ireland’s situation as “no longer a crisis. It’s a catastrophe.”

He rejected claims that migration was the root cause, saying, “the problem is appalling housing policy and implementation,” and warned against resignation to a system that “isn’t working.”