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Ireland’s temporary eviction ban

Don’t Settle for a Sticking Plaster!

24 October 2022

Almost without comment from the Central Bank of Ireland has made significant changes to mortgages that sum up the contradictions of the Irish government’s housing policy.  The Bank confirmed that it will ease mortgage lending limits to allow first-time property buyers to borrow up to four times their income. This will yet again increase the cost of housing in the middle of a massive crisis. At the same time, a temporary freeze in evictions has been announced as the government admitted that rent costs had far outstripped the cost of mortgages.

In addition to the rise in lending limits, the bank also raised the loan-to-value limit for those buying for the second time to 90% from 80%.  Mortgage lenders will have space to permit 15% of their lending to be above these limits.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath said: "The aim has to be to strike the right balance between supporting people who want to buy a home, while at the same time protecting the financial system "

The Governor of the Central Bank accepted that the changes could lead to 'a modest increase' in house prices "affordability and access to housing are key challenges facing many people in Ireland. At the core of these challenges is the need to increase the supply of housing," he said.

Alongside the central bank changes the Government has signed off on a temporary ban on evictions to run from 1 November until the end of March. The ban, a copy of an earlier decision during the Covid epidemic, has a no-fault clause, meaning it does not protect those who are in arrears. The Taoiseach said the temporary eviction ban would be time-bound because of the legal context to it – meaning the overwhelming support of the major parties for property ownership.

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee stressed that if tenants "are not paying their rent or bills, or if there is anti-social behaviour, they should not be left in accommodation".

"We have to get the balance here. We do have to make sure that people who own these properties... We have to balance their rights as well as making sure that nobody finds themselves homeless over Christmas."

However, the government is facing a dilemma

Michael McGrath explained: "I believe that there is a need to provide more opportunity for people to buy a home. We have a situation in Ireland where many people are paying a far higher level of rent than they would be on a mortgage were they to purchase that home."

There is widespread agreement that the housing crisis is an issue of supply and demand. Developers have to be persuaded to build more. This may involve higher prices, but eventually supply will outstrip demand and prices will fall. Prices are now so high that the knock-on pressure on rental policy means that people are paying rents that are so high that they would be refused a loan for the equivalent mortgage.  This in turn has provoked a political crisis which the government has dealt with by a stop gap ban on evictions.

All of the above is based on defence of property rights. It protects the rights of transnational vulture capital, guarantees high profits, and it protects the local capitalists who have climbed on board through the development of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). An ideology of the small landlord or small investor is used to hide the reality of corporate rule.

There is little opposition.  Over the years the union leaders in ICTU have moved into closer and closer partnership with the government.  Both they and Sinn Féin support a “Raise the Roof” campaign that exists mainly on paper. Outside these forces there is fragmentation.

Yet a major conflict is coming. The temporary ban on eviction is linked to temporary cost of living payments, to subsidised public transport and a host of other sticking plasters based on the hope of a quick resolution to the global crisis

A central demand should be for tenants’ rights. The right to a home would immediately undercut excessive rental charges and cut back on the broader housing bubble.

Uniting around such a programme means confronting the trade union leadership and Sinn Féin claims to present a painless resolution of the housing crisis.


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