Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley has appealed to government in the Dáil for the new rent rules not to be implemented.
These rules will be a part of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 that is due for 1 March.
According to Deputy Stanley, ‘whatever limits and calming effect Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ) had in slowing down rent increases will all be gone’.
He said: “The sky will be the limit as new rents will be pitched to the highest in the area.
“Tenants going into new apartments or houses, or existing ones that become vacant, face extortionate increases.
“Tenancies do not just change every six years, with the average tenancy lasting about three and a half years.
“Laois renters will be particularly hard hit, given the evidence of what is already going on in that sector in the county.”
Many tenants are under huge pressure as the latest figures for new rents in Laois show that there has been another increase of 15.3% over existing tenancies compared to last year.
In Portlaoise, a three-bedroom house in Kilminchy costs €2,100 per month, and a four-bedroom house in Foxburrow costs €2,500 per month.
Deputy Stanley said: “Laois has had the highest eight quarterly increases we have ever seen in the county, even though we have RPZs.
“In case things were not bad enough, the Government is now going to throw them to the mercy of rack-renting landlords.
“Many landlords are racing to get to the top of the market rent, and on top of all of that, there can be annual increases of up to 2%.
“Tens of thousands of households will be hurt that are already trying to keep their heads above the waterline in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
“It is a real difficulty for younger people who are over the income threshold for social housing and do not have a hope of being able to save a deposit.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael spoke about home ownership, which is impossible now that young people are trapped in private rented accommodation.
“The Government’s contention is that the increase in the supply of housing will reduce rents.
“However, the evidence shows otherwise when back in the years between 2003 and 2007, the construction of new homes hit record levels, but the rents just increased dramatically despite that.
“I ask the Government not to try to force through the Bill and instead introduce effective rent controls for counties like Laois where rents are rocketing.
“I ask the Government to increase the support for Laois County Council to build more cost-rental homes and improve housing affordability.”
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