Independent Councillor Paul Hogan has called for the implementation of a rent control on council residential properties with tenants facing the prospect of rate increases in 2024.
Cllr Hogan was speaking following the recent local authority budget during which Jimmy Dalton, Westmeath County Council head of finance, noted that a tenant rent review would take place pertaining to the increase of earned and social protection income.
Responding to the proposal, Cllr Hogan stated that it was unfair for Government to introduce measures to ease the cost of living only for Westmeath County Council to increase rents based on such measures.
“Westmeath County Council has introduced a budget comprising of a total expenditure of €108.1 million for 2024, an increase of €7.5 million on the previous year. The housing budget expenditure accounts for 24.8% of the total expenditure and 28% of the total income, of which the estimated rental income of local authority housing units is €8,526,429.
“As part of this budget for 2024, the council has opted not to increase the local property tax and maintain the current premium applicable to commercial property rates, both measures which I fully support.
“The Government has introduced numerous initiatives such as an increase in welfare allowance to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis. Westmeath County Council will include such a measure as an income increase and will therefore escalate rent payments for some of the 2,200 local authority households,” Cllr Hogan stated.
Responding to Cllr Hogan’s query relating to the amount by which tenants rental premiums would increase in 2024, the head of finance noted that payments would be capped at €20 per week, the increase for most households being in the region of €3 per week.
“The total cost of introducing a rent freeze would be in the region of €325,000. This could have been found by achieving more ambitious housing targets for 2024. The budget provides for the addition of 302 properties in 2024, 85 by acquisition and 217 by construction. The local authority would only have to increase these targets by 87, across all categories, to provide the additional money needed for a freeze on tenant’s rents.
“If all indications and trajectories are accurate, then this would be very possible. Construction has commenced on various sites around the county that will provide over 400 units and there are a further 450 houses on schemes that have been approved at the initial stages and are progressing to their respective next phases.
“In addition, as of October 2023, the local authority have completed 39 purchases and have 40 additional properties at various stages of progress in the county. It is hoped that all of these properties will house tenants in 2024, the majority of whom will be paying one full year of rent next year.
“It is therefore likely that the figure of 85 for acquisitions for 2024 across the county will be surpassed. The likely increases in construction and acquisitions and the overall increase in the number of households paying rent, would provide the additional €325,000 that was needed to introduce a freeze on rents.
“I believe that there is enough manoeuvrability in this budget to ensure no increase to local authority residential rents as we must be cognisant that many households are still enduring the cost of living crisis.
“This measure would have provided equity for all. However, the head of finance informed the meeting that the administration of the differential rent scheme is an executive function and therefore outside the legal powers of the elected representative to introduce such a measure,” Cllr Hogan concluded.
