The Irish Property Owners’ Association (IPOA ) has called on Government to ensure that the 2023 Housing for All objectives recognise the strategic role small landlords play in helping to resolve the housing crisis, and therefore adopt policy measures that will support the sector.
The Association contends that a failure to do so in a meaningful way will lead to a worsening exodus of small landlords from the market, thereby constricting supply even further.
According to a recent SCSI report 40 per cent of residential sale instructions to agents in the fourth quarter of 2022 were landlords selling their investment property.
As part of the Housing for All plan Government implemented a number of policy measures in Q4 2022 such as;
Preventing ‘no fault’ tenancy terminations from taking place over the winter
Increasing pre-letting expenses for landlords from €5,000 to €10,000
The IPOA contends that the actions taken by the Government under the scheme to date, do nothing to support the sector and as such will act as a deterrent to people entering the market. The Association asserts that a number of real and targeted measures are urgently required such as the introduction of;
Regulatory change – end the eviction ban and rent pressure zones
A 25% tax rate to level the playing field in circumstances where international REITs pay 0% tax
Meaningful capital taxes reform allowing for rollover relief and inheritance tax relief
A s23 rented residential relief double taxation write-off on certain property related expenses
Low-interestloans at preferential rates to incentivise further investment in the sector
“Over the past number of years there has been a continuous erosion of the property rights of landlords, and now is the time to address this current imbalance in order to create the right conditions for the sector. In the past five years the rental market has shrunk by 43,000 homes, and the measures taken by Government to date will do nothing to reverse this trend.
“It is time that policy-makers recognise the strategic role small landlords play in housing provision. We are in the midst of a crisis and instead of enhancing supply, the actions of the legislature are such that it does everything to deter landlords from remaining in the market. Their participation has obvious benefits in terms of housing provision but also for the Exchequer more broadly in terms of taxation and pension provision.”
“Ensuring a proper, functioning property rental market is a key aspirant of all small landlords. However, the supports to date are menial and our constitutional property rights are continuously being diluted. Reversing this can be achieved with real and meaningful actions,” Chair of IPOA, Mary Conway, said.
