Disproportionate regulation of private landlords causing drift to short-term lets says Daft.ie

Responding to the latest Daft.ie research showing that landlords are increasingly opting to let to tourists rather than to long-term tenants, IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, said disproportionate regulation of private landlords is the primary cause of the trend.

Pat Davitt, IPAV Chief Executive said the private landlord who has been the mainstay of the rental market is being forced by increasingly onerous regulation to find alternative solutions and the tourist market is an obvious one.

“The private landlord is taxed at a much higher rate than commercial landlords or vulture funds,” he said. And s/he has little comeback from the State’s regulatory infrastructure when faced with irresponsible or vexatious tenants.

“In fact the law is now so disproportionate that it facilitates irresponsible tenants who know that is they push hard enough they can live rent free for extended periods.”

Mr Davitt urged Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy, who is currently considering the regulation of the short-term rental market, to be careful of introducing yet further regulation without first easing the tax position of the private landlord and rebalancing landlord/tenant regulation.

“Otherwise more private landlords will flee the market, which may then leave the market primarily to the build-to-rent sector. This would create such dominance that these landlords would then be in a position to effectively control the level of rents into the future,” he warned.

He said the Government should give absolute priority to issues that will assist supply, including land availability, building costs particularly for SME builders and planning and service impediments.