Calls for three-year ban on rent hikes to ease Kilkenny’s housing crisis

A Kilkenny TD has caslled for an emergency three-year ban on rent increases and new laws to protect hard-pressed tenants.

Deputy Kathleen Funchion is also calling for a refundable tax credit for tenants in the private rented sector “to put a month’s rent back in every renter’s pocket”.

The Sinn Féin frontbencher spokes out as she called for cross-party support for a new motion that will be debated in the Dáil today.

Deputy Funchion said the motion, which has been drafted by her party colleague, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, outlines “a series of solutions that would end the crisis in the private rental sector”.

The Kilkenny TD said: “The rental sector is still in crisis. This Government is picking up where the last left off and has failed to properly regulate against unsustainable rent hikes, while failing to deliver affordable rental homes at the scale required.

“The average rent across the state is now €1,256 per month, with rents in Kilkenny rising year on year (https://www.rtb.ie/news/q4-2020-rtb-rent-index-published).”

Deputy Funchion (pictured below) accused the Government of having “no plan for the rental sector”, but she added: “Eoin Ó Broin does. In government, Sinn Féin would implement an emergency, three-year ban on rent increases and legislate for tenancies of indefinite duration.

“We would also introduce a refundable tax credit for tenants in the private rented sector to put a month’s rent back in every renter’s pocket. We would also ensure that all rental properties are compliant with minimum standards by introducing an NCT style certification system.

“There is action that can be taken to address the rental crisis. It just requires political will. This government has no plan to reduce rents, protect renters from further rent hikes or prioritise affordable rental supply.”