Reports: Government will retain rent controls for existing landlords but lift them for new investors

Is that not the same as it is today, any newly rented accommodation can be set at market rate today?
Or they are saying newly built can increase rents in any way they like forever more while everyone else cannot? Daft.
 
aristotle said:
Is that not the same as it is today, any newly rented accommodation can be set at market rate today?
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Rpz would simply not apply to new builds (that is my understanding)Not even after the first year. Currently new rentals (new building or old) can set their first rent then rpz apply.
 
The article is very poorly written and therefore it is difficult to work out the details of what is bring proposed but as far as I can see RPZs will be retained for existing tenancies and lifted entirely for new builds.

It astonishes me that no landlord has taken a legal challenge against RPZs which were introduced as an emergency measure and have been extended numerous times since then. They are not going to be lifted for one category of landlords and retained for others. How could this survive a legal challenge? But will anyone be brave enough to take one?
 
And the existing RPZ will be extended until December 2026 and from January 2026 the government will start to say they are reviewing them... and end up extending them again.
 
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But the idea is interesting.

People are not building apartments because of rent controls.

But if they are told that there won't be rent controls, then it's much more attractive to build.

But Sinn Féin could well be in the next government and what is to stop them from reintroducing them for those previously exempt?

I certainly would not build to let with Irish politicians' record of messing up the market.
 
While I would get rid of rent controls entirely, the alternative of keeping them for existing tenants and getting rid of them for new tenants would be much better than the proposal to get rid of them for new builds only.
 
Mocame said:
It astonishes me that no landlord has taken a legal challenge against RPZs which were introduced as an emergency measure and have been extended numerous times since then.
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I’m baffled too.

Deep-pocketed investment funds could surely pay for a High Court challenge by a mom’n’pop landlord.
 
Mocame said:
It astonishes me that no landlord has taken a legal challenge against RPZs which were introduced as an emergency measure and have been extended numerous times since then.
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Me too.

There are some extremely low rents out there where someone rented at the bottom of the market / got a deal just to have someone in the property. The landlord never upped the rent so by the time RPZ were introduced rent was already well below market.

The government basically sets rent based on that arbitrary value for the foreseeable future not just to protect the tenant (which has some merit tbf). but for any future tenant who may want to rent. For apartments that may be more suited as rentals they pretty much set the value of the apartment as an investment.

I am relatively left leaning but that’s a lot of state involvement.

I think a fair balance would be rent increases linked to inflation for say 5 years. It gives a renter a level of certainty. After 5 years rents can be set again and the renter gets 5 more years of certainty. New tenants don’t carry over restrictions.
 
Ultimately there's a credibility issue with proposed approach. The previous aim was to look after renters and avoid them getting bled dry. Now the policy seems to be to create two classes of individuals. Those (in existing accommodation) that are protected and those (future renter's) who won't be. Seems a fairly arbitrary split and but exactly a vote winner.

Will it convince large investors into Ireland?

Now if I was a big international investor would it impact my investment decision? First thing I'd do is nothing. If I had a new apartment block I wouldn't risk letting it out in case it meant I fell under the old RPZ regime. That's where we've been since the at least the turn of the year.

What about the future?

The continuation of RPZ's means the ongoing slow death of small landlords will continue. The ESRI basically came out and found this was what has been happening I.e., good for capping price. But bad for supply.

Reduction in supply by RPZ effected landlords will push more and more people into the other new uncapped segment.

Would an international investor be racing into start breaking ground on a new apartment block? I doubt it. If my business model is long term investment in a country with interventionist tendencies it's just not credible to think that I can be both the dominant class of landlord - from whom the majority of renters will rent from in the future - and to think my rent will be uncapped over my investment horizon.
 
New information in the media today (rte website) seem to suggest that they would also be changes for existing rented properties and in particular the ability to reset rent every six years ( though current tenants would be protected). I obviously use the conditional...
 
RTE news : Rent caps for new tenancies to be eased under Govt plan

Rent caps for new tenancies to be eased under Govt plan

Rent caps for new tenancies are to be eased as part of a plan expected to go to Cabinet next week.
www.rte.ie

Existing tenancies exempted so will remain under RPZ......you've a tenant paying a small rent they will not be in any rush to move.....ever.
 
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Brendan Burgess said:
But Sinn Féin could well be in the next government and what is to stop them from reintroducing them for those previously exempt?
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If it works to provide increasing housing then they wont touch it. They will just find a way to interpret their policy for it being their idea all along.

If it doesn't work, well...back to square one.
 
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