Brid Smith TD has claimed that the chair of the Residential Tenancies Board. Tom Dunne, has revealed a blatant bias when he claimed ‘ it is worth a tenant while to pay more rent to achieve security by letting from institutional investors.
‘These investors accumulate millions of euros and dollars as they scour the world looking for the highest rate of return on their investments.
‘Many have settled on the Irish property market because they have been able to push up rents to unbelievable levels. The government has facilitated this by giving special tax breaks.
‘The result is a dysfunctional market where many tenants are paying more than a third of their income on rent.
‘Real security for tenants is not guaranteed by paying high rents to vulture funds. It will come when there is legislation to grant tenant security of tenure and proper rent controls. In the meantime, we urgently need an eviction ban for the Winter months.
‘The overt bias shown by the chair of the Rental Tenancies Board will reduce the confidence of many tenants that they will get an impartial hearing. The chair should apologize for these comments.”
