A new survey has found that 50% of people believe caps on rent are the most important change needed to help solve the woes of Irish tenants.
According to the research put together by Taxback.com, 86% favoured the introduction of tax incentives for landlords to offer lease terms longer than 12 months.
When asked what they think the most important change needed to the rental sector is, half of all respondents pointed to rental caps to provide more security and peace of mind to renters
42% of people agreed that the most important change would be new regulation to give tenants more rights and security.
Meanwhile just 8% said changes in regulation to give landlords more rights would be the most important.
36% of people also agreed that the Government should introduce tax incentives to landlords who offer longer term leases for all leases longer than 12 months.
21% agreed but only for leases longer than 2 years, 12% for leases longer than 3 years, 12% only for leases longer than 5 years and 5% only for leases longer than 10 years.
And 14% did not agree.
Speaking of the findings, Joanne Murphy, CEO of Taxback.com said that the ongoing housing crisis has led to more people expecting government intervention on the rental sector.
“The issues facing tenants in the rental sector have been well documented over the past year, with soaring rents and the lack of supply of accommodation being chief among them.
"According to Daft.ie , the average rent in Ireland reached an all-time high of €1,403 in the third quarter of this year, with rents in Dublin more than doubling since bottoming out in late 2010. People are increasingly looking to Government for solutions and effective measures and strategies to alleviate the pressures they are facing.
"The support for longer leases indicated by the survey gives weight to the argument that people might get behind the idea of renting for longer to increase security of tenure. In other European countries, and in big cities such as New York, this is very much the norm. Longer term agreements also generally come with greater certainty in relation to future rents.”
Ms Murphy added: “The survey shows that there is certainly an appetite out there for longer-term and more secure lease agreements in the rental sector.”
