Rent rises compound cost of living crisis – Johnny Guirke

Rent increases of 13 per cent are "compounding the cost of living crisis", a local TD has said.

Commenting on the latest rental report from Daft.ie, which shows that rents are continuing to rise across the state, with renters facing increases of 13.2% in county Westmeath at the end of 2021, Deputy Johnny Guirke said that more needs to be done to stabilise the rental sector.

According to Daft.ie, the average monthly asking rent in the last three months of 2021 in Westmeath was €1,192. Deputy Guirke says that the figures show that the government isn't doing enough to tackle the housing crisis.

"The Daft.ie rental report for the last three months of 2021 shows that the average asking rent in Westmeath is up 13.2%.

"The report shows 19 counties had double digit rent inflation. Rents are continuing to soar in Westmeath.

"This is a phenomenal increase and is a massive additional cost for workers and families to bear; on top of rapid increases in household bills.

"This latest Daft.ie report makes it clear that there is little or zero affordable rental supply in most parts of the State.

"The ban on local councils buying homes with HAP or RAS tenants in-situ where the landlord is selling up is also forcing families into homelessness while the properties are being sold to investment funds, who lease these same properties back to local authorities. This makes no social or economic sense.

"The government’s 2% rent cap is clearly not working. We need a ban on rent increases on all existing and new tenancies, and we need government to put money back in renters' pockets through a refundable tax credit worth a month’s rent.

"Government must also accept that their social and affordable rental targets for 2022 are not sufficient and must be revised."