Fresh statistics show increase in house prices and rental property sales in Mayo
In the space of three months the average house price in Mayo has risen by 4 per-cent according to the Real Estate Alliance Average House Price Index. Their figures also show that 60 per-cent of sales nationally represent landlords leaving the market.
Speaking in response to the figures, Aontú TD for Mayo Paul Lawless said:
"There is huge irony here that the new regulations which the government brought to protect tenants has resulted in fewer rental properties and is punishing tenants.
“This is a disaster for families looking to buy or people looking to rent homes in the county. When the new legislation around evictions and tenancies was going through the Dáil, I warned that it was bad legislation, and that it would have an impact on the rate of eviction and would result in a flight of landlords.
“The new regulations which took effect from the start of this month mean that a tenancy must be of a minimum six-year duration. This rule meant that landlords who wanted shorter tenancies, or wanted more freedom with their properties, would begin evicting tenants and leaving the rental market before the rules came into place.
“This fear of mine seems to be borne out in today's statistics. The legislation was designed to tackle big corporate institution-style landlords, but is actually hurting landlords who may have inherited a property and have often a good relationship with their tenants.”
Deputy Lawless continued: "The solution to the constantly rising rents and house prices is, in my view, less regulation rather than more. So far in this government's term the Housing Minister, has been tinkering around the edges of the housing crisis. He has made apartments smaller in the hopes that more can be built in any particular development. He has introduced policies to protect tenants which have backfired and resulted in higher rents and fewer rental properties. He has overseen the rapid exodus of landlords from the market, while people in need of a council house are accommodated through the HAP and RAS schemes in private rentals at the tax-payer's expense and at the expense of private tenants seeking rental properties who are squeezed out.
“Mayo County Council own over 2,500 homes but are also renting 1,500 homes in Mayo to accommodate people for whom they have no house".
Deputy Lawless said that building new houses would take pressure out of the system.
"Aontú have common sense solutions to these problems. The easiest way to reduce the rate of homelessness and reduce the price of houses is to build more houses and take pressure out of the system.
“The three main reasons for the slow pace of construction are planning, the infrastructural deficit, and cost. We want to delete VAT on building materials and services, to encourage more construction. Our policies would reduce the cost of construction and make construction more viable.
“In terms of planning, we want to see planning laws relaxed so that people who have no material interest - or people who do not live in the area where the house is being built - are unable to object in the planning process. We want to see An Bord Pleanala produce a set of various 'pre-approved' housing plans in each geographical area, so that the person who wants to build a home can select a design which they know for sure will meet the planning criteria. We need common sense solutions here rather than more regulation and paperwork", concluded Lawless.