Keire Murphy: Plan to increase housing supply with rent reforms is built on a major contradiction

"Ireland's biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, told investors last month that recent rent reforms could increase its rental income by 25pc. This, to borrow a phrase from the tech world, is a feature, not a bug. A big part of the Government's housing strategy is incentivising private investors and developers to build housing."

"This is based on the logic that more supply is needed (it is) and that increasing supply will decrease prices (which is contested). But will this actually happen, and what are the costs of relying on the private sector this way?"

Ireland's housing strategy depends significantly on private investors and developers to increase housing supply, based on the assumption that more supply will lower prices. However, this approach has notable drawbacks. Ireland's largest private landlord, Ires Reit, reported that recent rent reforms could increase its rental income by 25 percent, demonstrating how private sector incentives may not align with affordability goals. The strategy assumes increased supply automatically reduces prices, but this assumption is contested. Relying heavily on private sector solutions creates structural conflicts where landlords benefit from higher rents rather than lower housing costs, raising questions about whether this approach effectively addresses housing affordability.

Read at Independent