Small Mayo landlords are being forced out by over regulation claim councillors

Over regulation of the private housing sector is driving small landlords out of the market and leaving house rentals in the lands of vulture funds according to Mayo councillors.

Members of the Claremorris/Swinford Municipal District passed a motion calling on the local authority to write on their behalf to the Minister of Housing to ensure that obligations currently on the private housing sector are applied to the local authority housing sector.

The proposal to write to the Minister was made by Cllr Damien Ryan who earlier told the meeting that the country is obsessed with rogue landlands and that private landlords were being over regulated.

“We are obsessed about rogue landlords and all that sort of stuff but there are rogue tenants in it as well and they have broken the hearts of landlords. Regulation and red tape is driving private rental out of the market because it is over regulated and weighed against anyone who would look towards remaining as a landlord long term. They were providing a service and they are now creating a problem for government and local authorities because they are getting out at a massive rate,” he said.

Cllr Ryan who is the Cathaoirleach of the Claremorris/Swinford Municipal District said that Access Ireland is currently accessing the private rental sector in Mayo and questioned if they were also accessing the local authorities housing sector.

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Director of Services, Tom Gilligan replied that there is an obligation on the local authority to access 25 percent of the private housing sector and they were utilising the services of Assess Ireland to do this.

He added that the council looks after their own stock which is around 2,500 units but Cllr Ryan felt that as the local authorities are also landlords, it should also be held to high standards.

Cllr Ryan was supported by a number of his colleagues with Independent councillor Patsy O'Brien commenting that there is a very unfair system in place.

Cllr O'Brien added that councillors are inundated from local authority tenants about the condition of their accommodation but the funding was not available to maintain them to a high standard.

“We should start at our own door before going after someone else's door,” the Robeen-based councillor said.

Claremorris-based Independent councillor Richard Finn also commented that many small local landlords have empathy with their tenants but are being forced out by all the regulation.

“As far as private landlords are concerned, they are fed up with the system and leaving it to the vultures and they will decide what the rent is,” he commented.