Renters left exposed by Government’s latest rental overhaul – Bacik

Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD has today called on the Government to halt its latest overhaul of rental law and introduce a rent freeze to protect renters, after challenging the Taoiseach in the Dáil on what Labour says are deeply damaging and inadequate changes to the Residential Tenancies framework. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Deputy Bacik warned that the proposed measures will increase instability in the rental sector, drive rents higher and leave ordinary renters more exposed to eviction and insecurity.

Deputy Bacik said:

“Families and renters across the country are already under enormous pressure, struggling to keep a roof over their heads as rents spiral and security collapses. Yet this Government is once again responding with confusion and complexity instead of real protection. The Residential Tenancies Board Amendment Bill has been billed as a reset, but in reality it is the seventh rewrite of rental rules in a decade. That relentless churn is not accidental. It deepens instability, creates legal uncertainty and ultimately benefits those with the most power in the market, not renters.

“This Government is dressing deregulation up as reform. Nationwide Rent Pressure Zones may sound reassuring, but the detail tells a different story. Allowing rents to be reset to so-called market value between tenancies effectively guts those protections and rewards eviction. That is unacceptable at a time when renters are already living in fear of the next notice landing on the doormat.

“The Taoiseach pointed today to elements of the Bill such as six-year tenancies and restrictions on evictions by large landlords. While these measures are welcome in isolation, they are entirely overwhelmed by a wider approach that continues to treat housing as a market problem rather than a social necessity. Linking rent increases to inflation is better than the chaos renters currently face, but Labour believes renters need a freeze to give real breathing space while prices remain out of control.

“The Taoiseach’s response in the Dáil today was deeply disingenuous. Once again, he side-stepped the real impact of his policies and failed to account for the evidence that they are not working. We can see that clearly in the collapse of the Tenant-in-Situ scheme, which was supposed to keep renters out of homelessness when a landlord sells. Last year, we were told the scheme was working as planned. Now we know that purchases by Dublin City Council have fallen by seventy per cent, with just 77 homes bought in a year. That means eviction notices are being issued with no safety net in place.

“We see the same failures in social and affordable housing delivery. Local authorities are increasingly forced to take enforcement action against developers who are not meeting their legal obligations under Part V. Labour has proposed transforming the Land Development Agency into a State construction company so the State can build directly, at scale, for public benefit. This Government has refused to take that approach, continuing instead to outsource delivery to private developers, often at higher cost and with poorer outcomes.

“Labour is calling for the Government to shelve these proposed rental changes, introduce a rent freeze, and deliver real, enforceable protections for renters. Housing stability matters. Families and renters deserve certainty, fairness and a system that works in their interests. This Government must change course and act now.”