Rents in Sligo and Leitrim continue to rise as government fails renters

Sinn Féin TD for Sligo Leitrim Martin Kenny has called for emergency action to reduce rents in the private rental sector as the latest Daft.ie rent report shows rents increasing by 16% in Sligo, and 20% in Leitrim in the last 12 months.

He has urged government TD’s to support a ban on rent increases for all existing and new tenancies for three years, and to put a full month’s rent pack into every private renter’s pocket.

Teachta Kenny said, “The latest Daft.ie rent report shows a 16% increase in rent cost in Sligo compared with 2022 costs.  Rental costs in Leitrim have increased year-on-year to just over 20% - double the national average increase of 10%. 

“This is totally unaffordable for people on ordinary salaries across the northwest. People need a break from sky high rents now.

“It’s clear that the Government has totally lost control of the housing market. Yet again, this government has failed to deliver a sufficient volume of social and affordable homes. Their controversial policies such as Help to Buy and the Shared Equity Loan have pushed up house prices.

“Meanwhile, ordinary people in Sligo and Leitrim are left paying the price for Government’s failures. I speak to people daily across the area who are trapped paying out of control rents, or living in cramped accommodation while they watch their dream of home ownership continue to slip even further out of reach.

“Government urgently needs to adopt a different approach. They need to understand that unless we see the delivery of 20,000 public homes a year to meet social and affordable rental and purchase needs, then this crisis will continue.

“Fine Gael has been in Government for 12 years. During that time rents in the state have increased by 155%. Fianna Fáil have been propping Fine Gael up for seven years. Since Fianna Fáil has had the housing ministry, rents have increased by 30%.

“This government has failed renters in Sligo, Leitrim and indeed across the state. They are out of touch and out of time. Only a Sinn Féin-led government will stand up for renters and deliver the genuinely affordable homes that they need and deserve.

"Our housing plan would deliver genuinely affordable homes for people across Sligo, Leitrim and across the northwest”, Teachta Kenny added.