Mayo's rental crisis requires emergency action

by Caoimhin Rowland

EMERGENCY action is needed to alleviate the rental crisis in Mayo.

The call comes as rents in the county town hit a high of €1,650 - if you can find a property.

Deirbhla Friel, auctioneer and owner of DF Properties, has expressed her disbelief at the absence of Castlebar from the list of rent pressure zones.

Westport has been designated a rent pressure zone, yet Castlebar remains unlisted, leaving local housing experts and tenants puzzled.

Ms. Friel's agency, in response to the overwhelming demand for rentals, has had to pivot its operations to email-only applications.

“For every listing online, there are north of 150 emails,” she revealed, highlighting the staggering demand for housing. “We no longer accept calls.”

She added: “Many potential tenants are employed but are now entitled to Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) due to the soaring rental costs.”

According to Daft.ie, the average monthly rent in Mayo is now €1,222.

Prior to the pandemic, a three-bedroom property in Castlebar would command an average rent of €550 per month.

However, in the current climate, that figure has surged to €1,650, according to her observations.

Ms. Friel's agency is now looking to expand its workforce to cope with the increased demand for its property management services.

Landlords, facing the complexities and challenges of managing rental properties, are seeking assistance from professionals like her.

She explained: “Landlords are now calling me up, handing me their portfolios to manage, because they can't deal with the hassle of it anymore.”

Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has pleaded for emergency action to alleviate the rental crisis in Mayo.

“The government urgently needs to adopt a different approach,” she said, stressing the need for the delivery of 20,000 public homes in the country annually to address the growing gap in social and affordable rental and purchase needs.

The surge in population, particularly from outside the EU as people come here to work, in the healthcare sector in particular, has further fuelled demand for housing in Mayo.

According to Ms. Friel, on her property listings, as many as nine out of 10 enquiries are from individuals hailing from beyond the EU.

Hidden homelessness also remains an underreported issue in government figures.

Said Ms. Friel: “I have many families come into my office who are crammed into single rooms or couch surfing.”