Mairéad Farrell, Sinn Féin TD for Galway West, is calling on government to implement a ban on rent increases and evictions as rent in the city rises 11.8%, according to the most recent RTB report.
The Residential Tenancies Board quarterly report finds the average rent in new tenancies in Galway city is now over €2000, with rental increases highest in cities outside Dublin.
This matches findings from Daft.ie and the Simon Community’s Locked Out report, advertised rents above €2000 and that there are zero properties within HAP limits in Galway city and surrounding suburbs.
Between April and June this year, 243 eviction notices were issued to tenants. While the number is down from the first quarter this year, it is still a significant number of people, says Farrell.
“Rents continue to spiral upwards… these renters will now have to start looking for a new home in a market of rising rents and stagnating supply,” she says.
Meanwhile, many of the 446 households who were issued eviction notices in the first quarter are still looking for alternative housing.
Farrell says there is no sign that private rental supply is increasing a year after the Government announced changes to rent pressure zones, apartment design standards, and massive VAT breaks for apartment developers.
“This means that many families and individuals are locked out of renting in Galway city, and when they receive a notice from their landlord, it is almost a guarantee that they will end up overholding or in homelessness for a long period of time,” says the TD.
“At the same time that the private rental supply is stagnating, the supply of social and affordable housing continues to be way behind actual need.
“Government policy is making the housing crisis worse. We need a new approach including a ban in rent increases and evictions, a full month’s rent back into every private renter’s pockets, stronger security of tenure protections and a dramatic increase in the supply of social, cost rental and affordable purchase homes.”
