Today the Taoiseach said that rents are supposedly not going to increase but we know it is the case that rents will increase as a result of the measures brought in today by the Government. We are in the midst of an emergency that the Government accepts is an emergency, with rents higher than they have ever been in the history of the State - they are completely unaffordable and unsustainable - and we will now see rents rise even further. The removal of that rent cap between tenancies means we will see rents increase across the board; make no mistake about it. The move today by the Government was a signal to landlords to go ahead and increase the rents. It is telling them that they can do so - that is what the Government is saying to landlords of existing properties and landlords of new properties who build them. The Minister of State is shaking his head, but it is the case that in introducing these measures, he said it is about activating the supply of institutional investors delivering housing. If it is about activating supply, it clearly does that through allowing higher rents because that is what the Minister of State said is needed, that is what lobbyists have been saying and that is what institutional funds have been looking for and now the Government has given it to them. Every tenant will face increased rents within the next six years. We will see rents rise even further but between now and March when the changes come in, we will also see landlords evict tenants so that they can then have the market rent charged.

Sentiment score: -0.07

Of course they can; they are doing it every day. How many evictions took place last year? There were thousands and thousands of evictions. They can evict a tenant through the sale of the property to a family member. Landlords are already on the radio saying that they are leaving properties vacant for two years so they can charge the market rent. They now know that next March, they will be able to charge the market rent full stop. That is what the Government is allowing them to do. Regarding the idea that the Government is introducing protections for renters, half of all renters will not get these protections because they are in properties owned by landlords who own fewer than three properties. Make no mistake about it - anyone who has lived in the private rental sector in this country knows this means that landlords will be able to turn to tenants and say "the rent is increasing and if you don't accept it, we will evict you or if we can't evict you directly, we won't do the maintenance". It will force renters out so they can charge the market rents. These measures will reduce the one protection renters had. This is a policy shift back to institutional investor funds. It is about making build-to-rent corporate landlords central to housing policy and renters will face evictions. We will see more homelessness as a result of these policies. The no-fault eviction ban should be for every renter and it should be implemented immediately. We need a register for rents and a freeze on rents for three years. The Government has been lobbied very heavily by institutional investors and landlords; that is so clear. The records are there. The lobbying register shows it. The Government has bent to those lobbyists instead of protecting renters. Renters are already struggling - they are in poverty and they cannot afford food, basics and healthcare. Families are going into homelessness as a result of this and what the Government has done today has made matters worse. It will lead to rising rents. When will rents be high enough? Is it when they are €4,000 or €5,000 per month? At what point will the Government say we need to freeze rents? When will rents fall? These policies will not lead to rents falling. We are disgusted with this policy and will fight it as much as we can.

Sentiment score: -0.11