Louise Morton of Wexford Rentals & Property Management agrees with the article written by Elaine Edwards in which it is said that the Government should provide a financial incentive to landlords to accept tenants receiving housing assistance payments as a means of tackling the housing crisis, the Society of St Vincent de Paul said.
At least 90,000 households were in need of social housing in Ireland and this need would increase “drastically” over the coming years due to the acceleration of home repossessions and economic eviction. Publishing its Pre-Budget 2016 submission in Dublin on Thursday, the charity said Ireland had experienced disproportionate austerity, with people on lower incomes suffering due to political choices. SVP said a condition for receipt of financial incentives by landlords should be that the quality of private rented accommodation was improved, with improvements in energy efficiency for example. It also called for an immediate increase in Rent Supplement limits to “realistic levels” as a temporary measure to prevent homelessness. SVP said it was concerned that targets in relation to new social housing supply promised by the Government for 2015 would not be realised. It sought a review of housing delivery to date against the targets.