Stressed tenants lift the lid on stress and greed

The difficulties faced by renters across the country are not new, but recent testimonials from Irish Times readers illustrate the extent of their integration, with little sign of imminent change.

This week’s report showed market rents have risen 38 percent in the last five years, more than doubling in a decade, while rents for those who have stayed are, on average, just 10 percent higher. high now and about 40 percent. cent for a decade.

In its most recent quarterly report, daft.ie said there were only 851 houses available to rent nationwide on its website as of May 1, the lowest number since the chain started in 2006.

The Irish Times asked tenants to share their stories with us. Here are some answers

A resident of Dublin

The rental system is completely broken. A couple and I rented a “bedroom” that was originally a living room. We are six at home. It is not even registered by the owner whose family owns at least three houses. They don’t even want to fix anything; if something doesn’t work, they want us to pay to fix it. They also raise the rent when they want; In 10 months our rent has doubled and so has other tenants’ rent because they say rents move with property prices. No one has evidence of bills similar to lodging.

Former resident of Dublin

Before the lockdown, I rented a small one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Dublin and commuted every day. The initial rent when I moved in about eight years ago was 650 euros. It was the average price for a single bed and was very affordable at the time. The place was a bit shabby, but I was fine with it. About three or four years ago I received an email from my landlord saying that if I didn’t agree to an increase of 900 euros they would sell me the flat. I couldn’t find anything else and agreed to a raise, but said they would have to upgrade the heating and other basic repairs.

Last summer, three years later, they installed the heating but did not repair it. Last year I was desperate. I’ve been through closures in this small space. The place was falling apart. They are not going to do the repairs and I was worried about paying them because they might take it as an opportunity to raise the rent again.