LATEST: Official report rejects case for rent controls in Northern Ireland

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Independent research published by the Northern Ireland Assembly has failed to back expanded powers within new legislation that enables its politicians to implement a rent decrease of up to 10 per cent and/or a rent freeze for up to four years.

Under the provisions within the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, the Assembly commissioned the Chartered Institute of Housing to produce a report on the Department’s behalf into the rent control powers.

The 70-page report, in summary, argues that rents are ‘relatively affordable’ when compared to Britain and Ireland, and that ramping up rent controls were likely to “create systems with negligible impact, complicated and unclear outcomes, or at worst undesired effects”.

CIH, having looked at other countries which have implemented rent controls including Holland and Berlin, surmised that they led to lower stock levels and that, if they were implemented in Northern Ireland, up to 60% of landlords would sell up some or all of their properties.

“The report’s findings are just what we expected – a failure to provide any evidence that further rent control is required in Northern Ireland,” says Timothy Douglas (pictured), Head of Policy and Campaigns for Propertymark.

“Tenants themselves say it is ‘neither easy nor difficult’ to be able to afford their rent and the most up-to-date data on market rents quoted in the report shows affordability is actually improving.

“Our own polling and research shows the biggest reason landlords are giving for selling rental properties is rising costs.

“This will be exacerbated if their rental income is cut or frozen. We also know that as many as half of the properties sold do not return to the rental market.

“The report acknowledges what we’ve been saying all along – that the best way to maintain affordability is to have enough homes to rent, privately and in the social sector.

“The new Northern Ireland Assembly must therefore ditch this rent control agenda and focus its efforts on delivering the quota of new housing across all tenures that was promised in the ambitious Housing Supply Strategy.”

Read the report in full.

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