People are becoming homeless in areas which are not designated as Rent Pressure Zones
The Government’s decision to limit stricter controls on short-term lets to Rent Pressure Zones is a huge mistake, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan
“The Social Democrats have been calling for stricter controls on short-term lets for many years, so it is long past time the government finally acted. However, the changes proposed by the Minister ignore the fact that we now have a rental crisis in every county.
“The Minister must explain why new controls on short-term lets will only apply in Rent Pressure Zones – and not in the 77 local electoral areas around the country that are not currently designated as Rent Pressure Zones.
“There are people becoming homeless in areas which are not designated as Rent Pressure Zones due to rising rents and a lack of supply of rental properties. Why is the Government ignoring these areas when it comes to regulating short term lets?
“Given the way the rules are constructed there are parts of the country that will never be classed as Rent Pressure Zones. As a result, they will never benefit from the proposed changes.
“New regulations for short-term lets must be extended to cover the entire country. There is a nationwide rental crisis and planning permission should be required to convert a rental property into a short-term let in any part of Ireland.”
11 July, 2022
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