Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, has said that the recent Daft.ie figures on rent increases highlight the ongoing difficulties that many families are facing. Wages are just not keeping up with the rise in property and rent prices, particularly in the Dublin area, he claims.

Crowe believes that the latest Daft.ie figures reinforce the view that the Government needs to urgently look at introducing rent certainty to alleviate the pressure on struggling households.

In the Dublin area rents rose by 11.1% over a 12 month period and cost of renting is highest in the South Dublin area.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“According to Daft.ie the average rent in Dublin is running at €1,520. That is 5.2% higher than during the peak Celtic Tiger levels.

“For someone on the average monthly wage of €2,980 living in Dublin, rent for a house will swallow up 51% of their pre-tax wage. That is huge chunk of anyone’s salary.

“This means that buying the average house in Dublin is virtually a no-go area for a person on the average wage.

“Continuous rent increases affects everyone dependent on the private rental sector for their accommodation needs. This includes working families who cannot afford to save to buy a home, low income families that are paying up to 60% of their disposable income on rent, and the increasing amount of students, as there are now 20% fewer properties available to meet this demand.

“In real terms, all of this is leading to a significant reduction in disposable incomes year on year and the erosion of a families’ ability to provide for their housing.

“Surely it is then understandable that workers whose families are spending over 50% of their income on rent are now looking and agitating for pay increases, but the cycle of rent increases needs to be broken. If the current trend continues, it will have no net benefit to workers or their families as their incomes will be further swallowed up by unproductive rent.

“Earlier this year, Sinn Féin tabled the Rent Certainty Bill 2016 which would have linked rent reviews to the consumer price index. This would have provided much needed stability in the private rental market, for both landlords and tenants.

“The Government needs to recognise that rent certainty is key to alleviating pressure on these households and needs to act accordingly. The latest Daft.ie figures reinforce the view that the Government needs to look again at introducing rent certainty to alleviate the pressure on those trapped in the rental sector.”

ENDS