Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s Rip-Off Rent Hike Bill that they forced through the Dail this week could see some rents jump by €5,000 a year.

Teachta Crowe the government has once again chosen vulture funds and big landlords over renters with these new rules that will hike up the rents of 60,000 people every year.

Teachta Crowe said:

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s Rent Hike Bill will allow vulture funds and big landlords to hike up the rents of 60,000 people every year. This will mean paying thousands more in rent from 1 March.

“This is the most profound change to rent regulation in a decade which will allow landlords to reset rents to market rates at the start of new tenancies and every six years after that. More and more renters will be subject to this new market rent reset rule, meaning already unaffordable rents will be hiked up even further

“For renters in Dublin, this means rent increases for apartments by an average of €2,800 a year and over €5,000 for houses. No wage or salary bump could ever hope to match those kinds of increases.

“This is truly scandalous. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have shafted renters yet again. They are being made to pay the price for the government’s failed housing policy.

“Government should be focused on bringing rents down, not caving in to the demands of vulture funds and big landlords for ever higher rents.

“Rents in are already too high, renters simply cannot take further hikes.”