The recent survey by Threshold, a housing charity, suggests that nearly three-fourths of domestic renters face difficulty in paying bills after their rent expenses. Over the course of the previous year, rent increments were noted by 42% of the participants.
The We Are Generation Rent survey conducted by the charity indicates that the proportion of tenants who find it hard to manage other financial obligations following their rent has increased to 74%, a significant increase from 59% in 2023.
A particular respondent, a 46-year-old earning more than €50,000 annually, expressed constant stress and month to month financial anxiety due to bills following rent payments. She confessed her struggle to see a way out of this cycle, which inevitably impairs her mental well-being.
The survey’s findings suggest a concerning level of financial instability and unaffordability for a significant portion of the respondents. The number of people who prefer tenancy out of choice has drastically dropped from 17% the preceding year to 6% in 2024.
A total of 88% of participants reported terrific challenges in finding rental accommodations. The insecurity associated with tenancy has been on the rise each year over the seven-year tenure of the survey, as noted by Threshold.
In 2024, over half of the respondents, i.e., 54%, conveyed feelings of insecurity or extreme insecurity about their accommodations. This is an increase from 48% in the prior year and 44% in 2022.
The majority mentioned poor maintenance standards, with the most frequent problems being damp and mould, malfunctioning showers and baths, and broken heating systems. Even though 81% of respondents reported these issues to their landlords, 63% said the issues were not resolved. However, slightly over a quarter stated they faced no issues with their accommodation standards.
Given the challenges facing tenants, acknowledging the private rental sector as a crucial part of housing, Threshold suggests implementing a “unitary housing system”. This would involve larger social and cost-rental housing provisions of a minimum of 20% open to a broader range of income households, mirroring the existing system in Sweden.
According to Threshold, such a strategy would induce competition in the private rental sector, resulting in fairer rent prices and improved terms and standards. The charity further recommends the continuous expansion of the tenant-in-situ scheme, enhanced upkeep of minimum standards, rent regulation, and the introduction of a constitutional right to accommodation.
Elisa Belmonte, a client of the Threshold housing agency, relocated from Genoa to Ireland half a dozen years ago for her studies and has been a tenant ever since. Her dealings with landlords have been predominantly favourable, however, she did have one negative experience with a landlord that left her feeling “distraught and furious”.
Belmonte, while residing with her partner in Dublin 8, had a terrible time trying to communicate with her landlord, especially when it came down to repair issues. Shortly after they moved in, they discovered that their heater and dishwasher were inoperable. In response to their appeal for help to the landlord, they were told that the previous tenants had fixed the malfunctioning washing machine by themselves, and they were advised to follow suit.
Adding insult to injury, Belmonte said, was being served a termination notice not long after they had renewed their lease agreement for the same property, giving them a six-month period to leave as the landlord intended to sell. Aside from that, they were required to sign a half-year tenancy agreement, and upon vacating before the stipulated time, the landlord withheld the €1,600 security deposit on the ground of agreement violation.
Belmonte admitted that they did sign the contract and that was an error on their part. Eventually, they got their deposit back via the Residential Tenancies Board’s dispute resolution process.
Belmonte referred to the cumulative rent in Dublin as “preposterous” and talked about the overcrowded viewings and the necessity to apply for any property regardless of its fittingness due to the severe shortage, with most places already spoken for.