Ireland to limit frequency of residential rent increases - sources
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish landlords will only be allowed to increase residential rents every two years under a government plan set to be announced shortly to temporarily control soaring rents, two government sources said on Friday.
A severe shortage of housing in towns and cities has become a big political issue ahead of elections due early next year, and has pushed rents in Dublin almost back to levels seen at the height of Ireland's property boom a decade ago.
The spectacular bust that followed in 2008 led Ireland into a now-completed international bailout, but rising rents are wiping out the effects of an economic recovery for many and putting further pressure on those still suffering from high taxes, persistently high unemployment and lower wages.
The new regulations, agreed between Ireland's ministers for finance and environment, will be put before cabinet for approval next week and are expected to stay in place for a four-year period before being reviewed, the sources said.
Environment Minister Alan Kelly had wanted to bring in legislation to link residential rents to the rate of inflation but that plan was opposed by the finance department, which had concerns over interfering with the market.
The rent controls will form part of a package of measures with the primary aim of boosting supply. The Irish Times reported on Friday that they would include a cut to development levies and a loosening of planning standards that will further cut costs and allow for the construction of smaller apartments.
Ireland was left with an overall surplus of houses after a construction boom that ended with the crash, but the wrong stock was built in the wrong places, leaving property scarce in cities while out-of-town housing estates lie empty.
With house building at less than half the level of the 1970s, when Ireland was a much poorer country, prospective buyers are stuck in the rental market as the economy recovers, pushing rents up as much as 10 percent a year in Dublin.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
