Irish rent prices up 10.4 per cent as rates soar to a new all-time high

Feb 13, 2018

Irish rents have reached a new all-time high according to the latest report from property website Daft.ie.

Figures show that prices across the country rose by an average of 10.4 per cent last year, with the average Dublin rent now €380 higher than the previous Celtic Tiger peak.

The biggest increases were seen in Limerick and Galway, with rents rising by 14.8 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively.

A lack of suitable properties is largely to blame for the spiralling costs, with just 3,143 units available to rent nationwide as of February 1 this year.

This is the lowest figure ever recorded since the report started in 2006.

Economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft report, Ronán Lyons said: "2017 marks the fourth consecutive year of double-digit gains in rents nationwide.

"The underlying pressure for rising rents remains due to a chronic shortage of available rental accommodation, at a time of strong demand."

Speaking about the report, a spokesperson for the Simon Communities in Ireland said the latest figures show that the Government's efforts to cap rent in so-called pressure zones, weren't working.

“Rent Pressure Zones and other measures cannot work without proper monitoring and enforcement by the Residential Tenancies Board," they said.

“Tenants cannot be expected to ‘police’ this private market when they are clearly at such a huge disadvantage with continuously diminishing supply and rising prices".

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats co-leader, Catherine Murphy, called on the Government to immediately link rents to the Consumer Price Index until sufficient housing is made available.

Housing crisis: New report shows property prices starting to stabilise

Feb 11, 2018

by Amber Saunders

A new report published in the Sunday Independent indicates that Irish property prices are beginning to stabilise after some areas saw an increase of 12.3 per cent in 2016.

New figures show a significant decline in price inflation in key market areas, falling from 8.8 per cent in the first half of last year to just 2 per cent in the second.

Dublin remains the most expensive area to purchase a home with an average cost of €920,833 for a property in Dublin 4 and €683,333 in Dublin 2.

The price of a three-bed semi in the sought-after Dublin 4 area rose by just over one per cent in the latter half of 2017, while similar properties in North Co. Dublin and Dublin 15 rose by close to one per cent and two per cent respectively.

Longford is the cheapest county to purchase a home, with average house prices coming in at just €95,000.

So, it looks like we may not have to give up our beloved avocado on toast after all!

Bedsit ban: Landlords welcome the return of single-room housing

Sep 14, 2017

by Staff Writer

Back in 2013, bedsits were banned on the grounds of health and safety.

The ban came into effect after fears that cramped, poor-quality bedsits were being provided by landlords which were not suitable for human habitation.

Now, there is a chance that the bedsit ban will be reversed amid the current pressure on the rental market from the housing crisis.

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy is set to announce the potential ban reversal as part of a plan to tackle the current Irish housing situation.

The Residential Landlords Association has welcomed the government's signals.

'It was a very foolish move in the first place to put a blanket ban,' Fintan O'Toole from the RLA told Breaking News.

'There's no question that some of them weren't fit for purpose but to ban them all outright – some of them were very good quality.'

'The only fault was that they didn't have bathrooms en-suite and it was that you shared with one or two other people.'

A Government source told The Irish Times that if bedsits return, they will be held to high minimum standards.

Strict regulations will be in place in relation to sanitary facilities, heating methods and there will be a minimum acceptable size.

Homeless man, 20s, takes his own life in emergency accommodation

Sep 7, 2017

by Amber Saunders

A 26-year-old homeless man is believed to have taken his own life while staying in emergency accommodation in Dublin 8 this week.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) confirmed the news yesterday evening, stating: “The DRHE is aware of the death of a person who was accessing homeless services. "

“The DRHE will not be commenting any further except to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”

His death brings to four the number of homeless people who have passed away in just one week.

Two rough sleepers were found dead in Dublin and Cork, while another woman in her 20s took her own life in accommodation in Leixlip.

In light of the recent deaths, the Simon Communities are calling for a vacant home tax and a significant increase in spending on social housing.

It also wants Government departments and State agencies to work closely together in order to tackle the crisis.

Spokesperson, Niamh Randall, say the Government's strategy needs to be revisited:

"The whole Rebuilding Ireland strategy is under review and part of our concern would be that the strategy is predicated on the private sector to deliver a huge amount of social housing.

"Currently the problem isn't producing housing for the private market, so we think that there needs to be an urgent rethink of this."

According the The Irish Independent, some homeless campaigners are concerned that that all homeless deaths have been made public.

Tech workers are turned off Ireland due to rent crisis horror stories

Aug 10, 2017

by Staff Writer

Ireland's seemingly out of control housing crisis is apparently turning workers off moving to the Emerald Isle.

Times are tough when it comes to renting nationwide, and in Dublin in particular, with a Daft.ie study putting the average cost of Irish rent at a whopping €1131.00.

Tech professionals hoping to come to Ireland for job opportunities are now turning down jobs in Ireland due to the situation.

The cost and availability of rental accommodation is cited as the issue, according to a new report by tech recruitment firm Prosperity.

'Time and again, candidates from abroad have cited an internet search on the cost and availability of accommodation in Dublin (and the many associated horror stories) as their reason for rejecting a job offer,' Gary Mullan, managing director of Prosperity, told The Irish Times.

Skilled foreign workers are looking to other European countries, such as The Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, for jobs, as while the salaries are slightly lower, the cost of living and renting is significantly cheaper.

Daft.ie

Market rents in Dublin, for example, are now 66 per cent higher than at their previous lowest point.

Outside Dublin, rents have risen 41 per cent.

With people's sheds up for rent for almost €900.00, and sex for rent craigslist adds staining the market, can you really blame people for being put off?

The housing crisis won’t be solved with bedsits, warns Threshold

Jul 5, 2017

by Staff Writer

Housing charity Threshold has warned that bedsits will not help the Irish rental and housing crisis.

The warning comes after a series of ideas were put forward to solve the crisis.

According to Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, bedsits are just a consideration.

'I think it’s important that, when I approach this review, I don’t take anything off the table too soon until I’ve looked at it properly to see if it could be part of the solution,' he told The Irish Examiner.

'Again, this is about supply.'

'So if we can find new sources of accommodation for people that suit their needs, that are up to the required standards, the minimum standards, and are robust, if that will work for people as a supply-side measure then yes I’m going to consider it.'

The other considerations include scrapping the help-to-buy scheme, increasing the mortgage to rent scheme, building new peoperties, introducing a vacant property tax and forcing local authorities to use idle land banks.

'It is worrying that almost a decade after the introduction of legislation to eliminate the bedsit, we are now hearing calls for their re-introduction as a response to the current accommodation shortage,' Threshold Chief Executive, John-Mark McCafferty told News Talk.

'Last year saw the publication of Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness.'

'Are we now, as a society, so bereft of ideas that the best response we can come up with is to bring back the bedsit?'

There is a 10 day sleep-out at the Dáil to highlight homelessness

News

Apr 7, 2017

by Staff Writer

A group of homeless people and activists are sleeping rough outside the Dáil to raise awareness for the crisis of homelessness in Ireland.

The group hope to portray the message that they want homes, not hostels for those struggling due to the housing crisis.

The group is asking that as many people as possible to come out and show their solidarity to the homeless by joining them at the Dáil.

"Rough sleepers are been left to die in alleyways and parks while the people who are supposed to be running this country line their own pockets and run the country into the ground," reads the description of the event on Facebook.

"We want these people to see the people this is effecting. They can't ignore the homeless people forever if we all sleep outside their office (the Dail) for as long as we can or until they listen to the homeless people when they say HOMES NOT HOSTELS."

The emergency bed system, which allocates hostel beds to the homeless, has gained notoriety recently thanks to the RTÉ documentary Ireland's Property Crisis.

Viewers were left concerned that the service requires homeless people to call up every day in order to secure a bed, and may not know if they have a place to stay until late into the night.

There are 27 empty houses for every one person in emergency accommodation in Ireland, according to the Simon Communities.

Images: Homes Not Hostels / Facebook