Galway EA - How the New Rental Rules are backfiring

[Greenbook]

Excellent article by a Galway EA here on how the new rental rules are backfiring.

He says, as we know here, that the new rules have accellerated landlords leaving the market.

He also mentions that while headline rents are high, again as we know here, after tax and costs the return is not attractive enough for all the risks which exist now.

On the new rules, he says

While politically attractive, many of these policies failed to account for a fundamental economic reality: when the financial and regulatory burden placed on landlords becomes too great, landlords begin exiting the market.
One of the central mistakes in Irish housing policy has been the belief that rent controls and regulatory intervention alone could resolve affordability pressures without simultaneously increasing housing supply.
The policies introduced to reduce pressure within the rental market have instead accelerated the contraction of supply and contributed to rising rents — exactly as many within the property industry warned from the outset.

This man should get more attention. He has his finger on the pulse as to what is happening. The government only listens to left wing academic 'experts' and housing activists unfortunately.

 

[Colin4444]

The government only listens to left wing academic 'experts' and housing activists unfortunately.

I think ppl give the government too much credit, saying they only listen to this or that, they know very well what they are doing...
The government take the path of least resistance, they are just looking for short term gains to garnish support as they could not care less about the long term.
If they were to actually tackle the housing crisis properly, they would have to make very difficult, unpopular decisions, hence would affect their support.
The system doesnt work.. its made to fail!

 

[JamieB_]

I think the bottom line is that the price increases and shortages are actually being driven by rent controls and a constantly changing investment landscape. This has knock on effects to supply, attitude to new or continuing investment, house and rent prices.
The sooner they wake up and realize this and decide to listen to actual experts, experienced in the business, the sooner they might be able to start to fix the problem. But zero chance of that at this point. That would require all government an opposition politicians of the last 20 years to admit that they were totally wrong every time they either did anything or even opened their mouths.

 

[Greenbook]

The sooner they wake up and realize this and decide to listen to actual experts, experienced in the business, the sooner they might be able to start to fix the problem.

They won't though.

I think once the reality of lower supply and higher rents sinks in, the 'experts' will be consulted yet again for the next range of restrictions. I think the Department is convinced that there is some mix of restrictions that will work, they just have to find it.

 

[patfert1]

That article is very well written, sets out the situation very clearly. Wouldn't it be great to get a direct response from a govt or non-govt politician. I won't hold my breath.

 

[Greenbook]

That article is very well written, sets out the situation very clearly. Wouldn't it be great to get a direct response from a govt or non-govt politician. I won't hold my breath.

I won't hold my breathe either. He's wasting his time writing this article. No one with any influence will take a blind bit of notice of it unfortunately.

 

[patfert1]

He's wasting his time writing this article.

Not really. He's marketing his business and we are linking to it

 

[jman0war]

It's not realistic to just build more houses.
They need to cut Demand.

 

[Leo]

It's not realistic to just build more houses.

Yet somehow up to 40,000 new houses are set to be built this year with Q1 delivery up more than 30% on last year.

 

[Bronte]

Yet somehow up to 40,000 new houses are set to be built this year with Q1 delivery up more than 30% on last year.

New home completions up almost 33% in first quarter - CSO

There has been a 33% surge in the number of homes built in the first three months of this year compared with the same time in 2025, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

www.rte.ie

And badly needed. Not sure though how the costs increases due to Iran will affect things ….

 

[Bronte]

Excellent article by a Galway EA here on how the new rental rules are backfiring.

I think it’s very long winded! As the name sounded odd to me I had a gabder

About

We deliver a premium estate agency service without the high fees to find you the best deal for a property! Call our office today to learn more about our services!

fairdealproperty.ie

No comment.

 

[patfert1]

No comment.

It's clear at the top of the article that he has skin in the game. It doesn't make the message any less accurate.

 

[Greenbook]

It's clear at the top of the article that he has skin in the game. It doesn't make the message any less accurate.

If anything it would be better for his business if he said that landlords were flooding in to market because of the great opportunities. That might encourage some people to invest in Galway and he'd get business.

If he sells properties as well, he'll get higher prices and commissions if he convinces investors to bid against owner occupiers.

He's being honest. Optimism and encouragement would be more profitable for him.

 

[Bronte]

It's clear at the top of the article that he has skin in the game. It doesn't make the message any less accurate

His message is way too long. But that wasn’t my point, it was about the firms title. There is no such thing as “Fair Deal” in anything to do with the buying and selling of property. His job is to sell to the highest bidder. It’s got zero to do with fairness. But “fair play” on the dazzling corporate branding.

I’m not going to get Burgess into trouble by being more “colourful” in my language.

I actually found the article tedious.

 

[patfert1]

Anyway, this does make me reflect on the supply situation in Galway. I lived and rented accomodation there in the late 80s and 90s. There was lots of building going on in all directions as the city expanded. There were loads of houses available - obviously lots of investors buying to rent - and rents were cheap - my first rent was 20 pounds a week. I recall moving a number of times and I don't recall any notable stress about finding a new house or the rent levels. I lived in one unpleasant cottage which would not meet today's standards but I simply upped sticks and moved on quickly to a modern house. I never had a written contract and never heard of anyone stressed by being evicted - I presume most investors were staying in the market and not selling. This was before any regulations. Now look at the current situation a few decades later as described in the article.

 

[Greenbook]

@patfert1 I had largely the same experience myself in the 80s.

Also, as a landlord long ago I used to be very anxious to get long term tenants and hold on to them!

 

[Greenbook]

This guy has published an article in the Galway Advertiser here

Again, he makes some very important points. He's the type of person the politicians should be listening too. That won't happen of course, the housing activists are much more attractive.

Talking about the new rules, he says

While politically attractive in the short term, these measures ignored a basic economic truth: if you reduce the attractiveness of supplying rental accommodation, fewer people will provide it.
He also says

There is sometimes a temptation in politics to believe that capitalism can simply be manipulated into delivering a socially desirable outcome through legislation alone.
Many ordinary landlords now face increasing compliance costs, expanding legal obligations, restrictions on repossession, and a tax burden that compares unfavourably with almost every other form of investment. For many, the conclusion has become unavoidable: the risks and pressures of remaining in the market no longer justify the returns.
Today, many smaller investors simply do not trust the policy environment enough to commit capital to the sector. Regulatory uncertainty has become a major deterrent to long-term investment.

 

[Leo]

He's the type of person the politicians should be listening too. That won't happen of course, the housing activists are much more attractive.

Politicians are primarily in the business of getting reelected. So long as the electorate remain illogical we shouldn't be surprised when our politicians act that way too.

 

[cremeegg]

There is no such thing as “Fair Deal” in anything to do with the buying and selling of property. His job is to sell to the highest bidder. It’s got zero to do with fairness.

In'fairness' to this EA his business model for selling property is by way of online auction, where anyone can see each of the bids made. You can see them on Daft. So when he calls it 'Fair Deal' that actually means something tangible, and it certainly gives visibility which might be considered to increase fairness.

 

[JamieB_]

In'fairness' to this EA his business model for selling property is by way of online auction, where anyone can see each of the bids made. You can see them on Daft. So when he calls it 'Fair Deal' that actually means something tangible, and it certainly gives visibility which might be considered to increase fairness.

And its just a business name at the end of the day. I have a friend who called his business "square pegs". He sold phones, but he asked his kids to pick a name for the business and thats what they picked.