The private rental sector is being destroyed by stealth due to the unnecessarily and complex legislation surrounding it, more of which was announced last week by Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, according to the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA ).
Chairman Stephen Faughnan says landlords today are faced with complicated legislation which effectively gives tenants all the rights and puts landlords “on the back foot” whenever housing is on the agenda.
He said proposed restriction of a deposit to one month represents a gross violation of property rights and further dilutes protection for the private sector landlord who is already under severe pressure by a series of ill-thought out Government actions.
Mr Faughnan, said: “Many landlords have voluntarily accepted just one month deposit, but it has become increasingly difficult to justify not increasing the deposit due to the unfair position landlords have been put in by the bureaucratic system involved when tenants are not compliant with their obligations.”
He said this situation was brought on by “the failure of Governments to understand the reality of life for the providers of private rental accommodation”.
The IPOA has also criticised the introduction of a formal deposit protection scheme as being “another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy and a further assault on the providers of private rental accommodation”.
Mr Faughnan said that the scheme will lead to “untold and greater misery” for tenants as they will not be able to have their deposits refunded on their departure day to fund new accommodation.
“The refund process may take several months compared to the current position where tenants can get an immediate refund, subject to their accommodation being left in the same condition as they found it and their rent being up to date,” he said.
“In the situation that we have where extreme protection is offered to anti-social and non-paying tenants, while landlords have to cope with not being allowed all legitimate expenses against tax on rental income, it is inevitable that landlords will exit the market, which will contribute to the very real housing crisis.
“We need to urgently address the problems with bad tenants, just as much as we must address the problems with bad landlords. Any group in society will have good and bad, and landlords and tenants are no different.
“Rent control, custodial deposit protection, and annual registration are not in the interest of tenants or property owners”
