Bill could hike local rents by up to €4,000 a year
A local TD has claimed that the state’s new rental rules could see local tenants facing an annual increase of over €4,000 – or 25 per cent.
Galway East Deputy Louis O’Hara claimed that what we called the Rip-Off Rent Hike Bill will mean renters in County Galway could see rents jump by a shocking €4,020 a year.
The Sinn Féin TD said that the Government had ‘shafted’ renters with these new rules, as he claimed vulture funds and big landlords will be allowed to hike up the rents of 60,000 people every year.
He said Sinn Féin will oppose this legislation tooth and nail, adding: “We need to end the rip-off, ban rent increases and make rents affordable".
“Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael’s Rent Hike Bill will allow vulture funds and big landlords to hike up the rents of 60,000 people every year. This will mean paying thousands more in rent from March 1,” said Deputy O’Hara.
“This is the most profound change to rent regulation in a decade which will allow landlords to reset rents to market rates at the start of new tenancies and every six years after that.
“From March 1, more and more renters will be subject to this new market rent reset rule, meaning already unaffordable rents will be hiked up even further. For renters in County Galway, this means rent hikes of €4,020 a year – a shocking 25 per cent increase compared to current average rents.
“This is truly scandalous. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have shafted renters yet again. Government should be focused on bringing rents down, not caving in to the demands of vulture funds and big landlords for ever higher rents,” he added, vowing that Sinn Féin would oppose this legislation ‘tooth and nail’.
Pictured: Claim...Louis O’Hara.