Radical rent freeze proposals are “unconstitutional” and will drive out landlords and investors, the Government has insisted.
Sinn Féin moved emergency plans for a three-year rent freeze as well as proposals for a special tax rebate for tenants.
The legislation is being backed by Fianna Fáil and is set to be approved by a Dáil vote tomorrow. However, Fianna Fáil said it will scrutinise the bill at a later stage.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy admitted rents are “impossibly” high, but he defended landlords and said they are an “important part of this country”.
He claimed Sinn Féin TDs had opposed housing developments in their own areas while the Government earlier this year improved rights for tenants
He argued that rent freezes would “damage” supply and that the proposed Sinn Féin bill is “unconstitutional” and even “reckless”.
Fianna Fáil’s Daragh O’Brien said his party, at this stage, would support the bill, but that it would scrutinise the legislation.
Tenants are “snared in rental traps”, he said, adding that party TDs would work at committee stage to refine the bill.
Fianna Fáil wants to “strike a balance” to prevent extortionate rents but not penalise landlords who do not hike them up.
“Rent freezes alone” would not address the rent crisis, Mr O’Brien told the Dáil.
Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin outlined how, since rent pressure zones — designed to limit rises to 4% — were introduced in early 2017, tenants had seen rates shoot up by 24% in Dublin.
“It is time to give renters a break,” said Mr O’Broin.
Under his emergency proposals, rents would be frozen for three years and tenants entitled to a tax rebate of up to €1,500 a year.
This would cost the exchequer €260m a year. Mr Ó Broin argued that, contrary to Government claims, it is “absolute nonsense” to claim the measure will “scare” investors or landlords.
“The crisis in the rental sector is hurting people and damaging our economy,” he said, adding that rates are now “insane”.
In many cases, tenants would need a total income of €80,000 to €100,000 annually to afford these prices, he said.
Tenants instead are being forced to move home, workers are spending half of incomes to pay rents, and employers are facing wage demands, the Dáil heard.
Mr Ó Broin said the Fine Gael-led Government strategy to fix the housing and rental crises with the private market had “failed”.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank has said that Ireland needs up to 34,000 new homes built every year for the next decade to meet the demands of a soaring population.
The projection by the Central Bank is significantly higher than previously thought, with just 21,000 homes expected to be completed this year.