The private rental market is being destroyed, and with it important aspects of Irish life, writes Anne Harris, via IrishTimesOpEd
The lack of rental accommodation is a critical backdrop to the untold misery of homelessness in Ireland. It is true that young adults living at home have roofs over their heads; but that is a relativist argument. Simply put, two wrongs don’t make a right: there is no hierarchy of wrongs, only degrees. There are significant social dimensions to the disappearance of flatland, which could have far-reaching consequences.
There are many reasons for this but one offered by property agents is landlords’ fear of Sinn Féin. It appears that the closer we come to a Sinn Féin-led government, the quicker private landlords seek the road out. Sinn Féin goes further. By removing conditions such as selling or refurbishing a flat or providing accommodation for a family member as reasons for ending a lease, Sinn Féin’s proposals make it almost impossible to terminate a contract. It essentially means that property would have to be sold with tenants in situ, an infinite lease as opposed to an indefinite one.
All property is theft was an old agitprop slogan of the far left. Despite Sinn Féin’s newfound pragmatism, it still seems to hold sway. Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin president, strongly disputes that the party’s policy is the reason for the landlord exodus, claiming it is caused by landlords coming out of negative equity. But a policy that affects the potential value of a property, such as selling with sitting tenants, was always going to strike terror into the hearts of landlords.
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