Laois councillor pushes back against party to oppose Government's rental reforms

A Laois Fine Gael councillor has called for a halt to the incoming rental reform in March which has stirred major controversy across the country. 

Councillor Conor Bergin defied his own party's position on The Residential Tenancies Bill which will see significant changes to renting and tenancy agreements. 

The bill will allow tenants to remain in rented homes for a minimum of 6 years after living there for 6 months. This is designed to ensure enhanced protections for renters.

The bill also allows for landlords to reset rents to market value when entering a new tenancy or at the end of a 6 year cycle.

Landlords won't be allowed to reset the rent after a 'no fault eviction', meaning a landlord cannot end a tenancy if the tenant hasn't violated their agreement. This is to protect tenants from being evicted so that landlords can increase their prices.

The new bill was signed into law by President Catherine Connolly on Tuesday, February 24. This means that it will come into effect on Sunday, March 1. Only tenancy agreements made on or after this date will be subject to the rule changes. 

The changes have been met with fierce opposition, with people concerned that landlords will be able to further increase prices for new tenants as well as some even leaving the market to avoid the lengthy 6 year tenancy rules. 

Councillor Conor Bergin raised the issue at a meeting of Laois County Council on Monday, February 23.

He tabled a motion for the council to call on the Government to pause the rental reforms and to engage with local authorities to ensure that any changes do not reduce rental supply or place more pressure on renters and small landlords. 

The Fine Gael councillor said he was calling for a halt to the reforms based on his own beliefs and not that of his party's, remarking that he anticipated a "slap on the wrists" for his motion.

"It's about simple common sense," Cllr Bergin told the council. 

"What works in Dublin and for the Dublin market, does not work in Laois. The Government moved too fast on this without understanding the local reality." 

Cllr Bergin added that he does not see the demand for six year leases in Laois, an aspect of the new bill which may push landlords out of the market. 

"The reforms aren't going to increase the supply, all it's going to do is make it more restrictive. What it's going to do is put small landlords out of the market. What does that mean? That means when supply drops, rents rise," he explained. 

Cllr Bergin said he knows of a lot of people who are thinking of selling their properties at the moment because they can't keep up with regulations that are there.

With pressures already on families and people renting, Cllr Bergin urged: "We need to have a pause and a proper conversation with local authorities because it's the likes of local authorities like Laois County Council who know about housing." 

Fellow Fine Gael councillor, Vivienne Phelan agreed with Bergin's motion and said that smaller landlords are "being demonised."

Councillor Caroline Dwane Stanley also supported the motion, saying people will be "driven into homelessness." 

With no cap on new tenancies, Cllr Dwane Stanley said that prices will be "absolutely chaotic."

The Independent councillor said that just last week she checked out rental properties in Laois and found that a one-bedroom apartment cost €1,750 a month and a four-bedroom home was €2,200 a month. 

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Cllr James Kelly and Cllr Tommy Mulligan both supported the motion, but admitted it's too late now to see any changes made to the bill.

Cllr Kelly echoed the concerns raised, saying: "What TDs have voted for is for young people to emigrate or move back in with their parents. They should have called it 'Raise Your Rent' bill."

Laois County Council said they would write to the Housing Minister, James Browne TD, and ask for the bill to be paused.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme