Tens of thousands of people are living in a rent hell that is consuming nearly half of their income.
In many cases, it is cheaper to pay a mortgage than rent. But the rents are so high that only a small number can save to get out of hell.
On Wednesday People Before Profit/Solidarity will introduce a Bill that seeks meaningful rent control and aims to bring rents into line with income levels.
The Bill would tie rents to a maximum of a quarter of local or national median monthly household income, whichever is the lower, and based on the relevant household size.
The Rent Reduction Bills would also set up a new National Rent Authority composed of tenant and employee representatives.
These radical measures are needed to address the catastrophic rent increases tenants have faced in recent years.
People Before Profit is also calling on TDs who are landlords to abstain from voting as they have a direct conflict of interest. Only 3% of the population are landlords but 80 TDs are either landlords or substantial landowners.
Landlords should not be voting on an issue that benefits them.
The Bill can help initiate a much-needed debate on the crisis faced by renters and a challenge to the current market determination of rent costs is desperately needed.
Lobby your local TD to support the measure – and then check how they voted.
The Bill can be viewed here, and an explanatory memorandum is available here.
