Focus Ireland Advocacy Director Mike Allen Ireland’s rising rents are “like a fever”, Focus Ireland has said, calling for the Government to implement rules effectively. Commenting on a DAFT report revealing average national rents to be €1,227 per month, with rents on the rise nationwide, Focus Ireland Advocacy Director Mike Allen said Ireland’s housing system is “truly dysfunctional”.
“These massive rent increases are like a fever that needs to be controlled if we are not to see thousands of families, including those on decent wages, forced out of their homes,” he said, adding that a lack of monitoring was undermining Government attempts at holding back rent increases.
Mr Allen also drew attention to how there were just 3,143 properties available to rent nationwide on February 1, with under 1,350 homes available to rent in Dublin compared to almost 6,700 at the same point in 2009.
“We are deeply concerned that because the limited amount of new rental available there will be fewer opportunities to move out of homelessness and people will be stuck in emergency accommodation for longer,” he said.