Has anyone had any luck with politicans about housing crisis?

Shelga

I've emailed Darragh O'Brien 3 times in 3 months to ask what the plan is to alleviate supply issues, and have heard nothing back, not a single response. The contempt shown to us by government is just incredible.

Has anyone else had any luck in getting responses from the people in the Dail who are supposed to represent us, yet have made this issue worse and worse and worse over the last decade?

I'm at the end of my rope. Considering leaving again, for the second time in a decade. What's the point of trying to live in Dublin, as a single person. Obviously it's a dire situation for couples and families too, it's just so stressful.

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/bungalow-20-st-brendans-terrace-coolock-dublin-5/3174734

This shack of a house, requiring full refurbishment, went up on Saturday (2 days ago) and is already up to €255k. 13% over asking, within 48 hours, without viewings taking place. I hear nothing from government ministers about the situation, still absolutely no clue when viewings will be happening again.

I just hope it somehow gets the slighest bit better in the next 6 months, or I'm off. The panic levels out there are unreal at the moment.

hi!

Shelga wrote: »

I've emailed Darragh O'Brien 3 times in 3 months to ask what the plan is to alleviate supply issues, and have heard nothing back, not a single response. The contempt shown to us by government is just incredible.

Has anyone else had any luck in getting responses from the people in the Dail who are supposed to represent us, yet have made this issue worse and worse and worse over the last decade?

I'm at the end of my rope. Considering leaving again, for the second time in a decade. What's the point of trying to live in Dublin, as a single person. Obviously it's a dire situation for couples and families too, it's just so stressful.

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/bungalow-20-st-brendans-terrace-coolock-dublin-5/3174734

This shack of a house, requiring full refurbishment, went up on Saturday (2 days ago) and is already up to €255k. 13% over asking, within 48 hours, without viewings taking place. I hear nothing from government ministers about the situation, still absolutely no clue when viewings will be happening again.

I just hope it somehow gets the slighest bit better in the next 6 months, or I'm off. The panic levels out there are unreal at the moment.

I emailed all my local TDs and then minister for housing and Toasiesch.
The only reply I got was from my local Sinn Fein TD saying they agreed with everything I said. Not much progress at all.

s8n

Nice little project in that house.

In terms of the ministers, what exactly are you looking for ?

Monsieur Folie

I emailed 4 of my local TDs a few weeks ago specifically citing the restriction on viewings as exacerbating an already bad situation and asking if they could put pressure on the Gov to change it when the restrictions were lifting in April. I did get 3 responses from a Green TD, PBP and an independent and they all basically agreed with me... 2 said they would submit parliamentary questions on the issue and the Green TD said they would push the issue with their colleagues. Local SF TD didn't reply at all.

ongarite

What are you expecting them to say?

Due to COVID, construction was stopped in this country for 7 of the last 12 months.
That's a serious knock to the already low new home supply which will take years to be alleviated.

Shelga

s8n wrote: »

Nice little project in that house.

In terms of the ministers, what exactly are you looking for ?

House would be a nice project! Lots of people seem to think so

What I'm looking for is a plan to help people get housing that isn't Help to Buy. For anyone looking in Dublin with a budget under €350k, this is useless, it may as well not exist.

I am also looking for some initiatives on how to stop hoarding of empty/derelict buildings, with a plan for how to rezone them if necessary and convert to residential. Surely this would be so much cheaper for developers than building new places from scratch?

I'd like councils to build their own properties, not distort the market by hiking up prices on the open market, using our money.

Mostly I'm just looking for some indication that this man gives the tiniest sh*t about what's going on.

*Edit* and yes I also want a firm date for when viewings will be happening again, because kicking it down the road indefinitely is disgraceful and making everything worse.

Sebastian Dangerfield

I emailed my local TD (Social Dems) - specifically about:

i) Media reports of councils taking apartments from developers at ludicrous prices of €780k and €960k, including a Glenveagh development where DCC are taking studios for 300k each, rather than using the money to build proper family houses. It seems mental to me that i) a family wins the lotto and gets an apartment no working family could afford, while the housing list barely moves, and ii) the state is essentially reinforcing these prices by taking stock at these levels. He agreed with me, and says he is working a proposed amendment to Part V rules.

ii) The ban on viewings, similar to Monsieur Folie. He didn't give a view but said it was "a priority for the Minister" and would expect it to be reinstated in "May or June". Again this seems like an easy win for the govt to deliver; insist on appointments, proof of funds, no more than x people in one house at a time. It's as low risk as you can get.

The latter in particular is a big issue. I say this with vested interests as I'm looking to sell up myself, but feedback from mortgage brokers, estate agents etc is that there is going to be a mental spike in prices in the short term. I just spoke to an estate agent about a house I saw a sign outside; it is being listed €125k higher than a better house in the same estate sold for in September.

jimmycrackcorm

Shelga wrote:

I'd like councils to build their own properties, not distort the market by hiking up prices on the open market, using our money.

While you are it, why not email DCC who objected to Quinn's pub being turned into apartments.

Everyone: we need more housing.
Everyone: we object to it near us though

Shelga

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

While you are it, why not email DCC who objected to Quinn's pub being turned into apartments.

Everyone: we need more housing.
Everyone: we object to it near us though

Didn't know about this, just googled it, am so sick of these stories. More important to have an empty pub that retains the "spirit" of the area, rather than people having anywhere to live eh!

Wanderer78

Their response is clearly let's leave it to the usual suspects, I.e. the fire sectors(finance, insurance and real estate), since they've been doing an amazing job of it over the last couple of decades!

ongarite

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

While you are it, why not email DCC who objected to Quinn's pub being turned into apartments.

Everyone: we need more housing.
Everyone: we object to it near us though

Exactly, this whole city, Dublin, from council with height restrictions to residents is full of NIMBYs.
Full of good sound bite solutions but when it comes to implementing it, object to it.

Caranica

What do you want from the politicians?

A copy and paste response from the Programme for Government? A commitment to raise it the Dáil?

Every politician knows there is a housing crisis, everyone wants to fix it. There is no magic fix. It's going to take time.

Covid is delaying things in a big way. The guts of a year with no/limited construction.

The strategic housing developments initiative was brought in to ease the planning process for larger scale developments but it is thankfully coming to an end as it was intrinsically undemocratic and deeply flawed. That will lead to more delays.

It is what it is, expecting a politician to be able to change things is totally unrealistic.

Edit: In the vast majority of cases it's cheaper to demolish derelict and rebuild rather than try to bring the buildings up to standard.

Councils are building their own properties in small numbers but don't have the budget for large scale developments. That may change, look at the model development with the LDA that is due to be built in Shanganagh.

Padre_Pio

Housing in Ireland is f*cked beyond belief, primarily because people's worth is tied up in their property.

The government can't reduce the cost of housing because it makes homeowners (read: voters) poorer. Too many millionaires on paper in this country, too many people who's property is their nest egg, too many Bull McCabes, too many amateur landlords.
So they'll do whatever they can to come the other way; keep the cost high, but give people money and reliefs to buy houses.

But builders are savvy, they know the maximum the average couple can afford, so they just set the price of new builds accordingly, and keep supply on a leash.

So now we have a two-tier system. Houses are just about affordable to those who can afford them, and almost free to those who can't Builders get their money, landowners get their money, EA's get their money and banks get their money. And you get a mortgage for 30 years and are happy for it since long-term renting is nonexistent.

Xterminator

Even the green and sinn fein politicians who 'hold the government to account' as opposition, have been nimbys on issues that occur in their backyard. So its not like you can say the government is the problem. Because the opposition are at it too, when it suits and for local votes.

there's not much point in discussing the merits of specific housing applications developments but Aodhan marched with the st annes residents who didn't want more houses in a field beside st annes park, and Eoin Ó Broin to social housing in his constituency!

Housing is a bit like the provision of services for travellers - its a vote loser for local TDs - they cant do what's best for the country if they want to get re elected, as they have to keep the local residents onside. Far too often the two have contradictory needs and desires.

If you say to residents, sorry we have a housing crisis and for the good of the country we need to build these houses and apartments on that site, even if there is local inconvenience, the TD will not get elected next time around. So self interest keeps them from taking the greater public good POV.

Sebastian Dangerfield

Caranica wrote: »

Every politician knows there is a housing crisis, everyone wants to fix it. There is no magic fix. It's going to take time.

I heard Simon Coveney say similar on Claire Byrne about 5 years ago. 2 housing ministers on, and things are arguably worse. They havent come up with a single idea that doesnt involve handing money to the private sector.

They could build houses themselves, in whatever scale funding allows, which they seem completely opposed to. They could look at PPP schemes. They could help people stuck in the rental trap where they cant save for a mortgage because rents are so high. They could encourage the building of smaller units for single people so that shared houses are released to the market, so that single people on lower income jobs have an option not to share. Instead they came up with co-living, all the price of a single dwelling but half of the benefits.

Instead of taking Part V units they could make the construction of affordable housing at an alternative location a condition of planning for large developments. Part V housing was meant to generate a social benefit from large scale developments; the opposite has happened. The local authorities are propping up the prices charged by these developers - prime example here:
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/glenveagh-secures-green-light-for-702-build-to-rent-apartments-1.4530316?mode=amp

The could tax the hoarding of land. They could swap state owned land for other land more suitable for housing.

But they do none of these things, at least on a scale that matters. They trot out platitudes and talk about medium term plans, rather than that legislate with any degree of creativity.

Dav010

You want the Government to get into large scale property development? What could possibly go wrong.

Sebastian Dangerfield

Dav010 wrote: »

You want the Government to get into large scale property development? What could possibly go wrong.

I want the state - via local authorities or dedicated agencies - to take creative approaches to stimulate the provision of housing where profit is not the sole outcome.

I dont expect the state to be the builder of all of those homes, but could they contribute? Of course - is the provison of council houses that alien a concept? Why couldnt an agency like NAMA engage developers to build houses in a subsidised manner?

I certainly dont expect the state to tackle the problem of rising house prices by inflaming those prices, by buying premuim luxury apartments from the private sector at stupid levels like the ones in the article.

Dav010

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

I want the state - via local authorities or dedicated agencies - to take creative approaches to stimulate the provision of housing where profit is not the sole outcome.

I dont expect the state to be the builder of all of those homes, but could they contribute? Of course - is the provison of council houses that alien a concept? Why couldnt an agency like NAMA engage developers to build houses in a subsidised manner?

I certainly dont expect the state to tackle the problem of rising house prices by inflaming those prices, by buying premuim luxury apartments from the private sector at stupid levels like the ones in the article.

Unfortunately the Children’s Hospital and the School building debacle are examples of what happens when the State gets involved in buildings projects. You are asking for the taxpayer to be charged a premium for the projects, with little capacity for oversight. Instead of paying exorbitant prices for completed projects, they pay them for building them. Should they then sell them at a loss to the taxpayer, or at the development price?

Caranica

Again I refer to the Shanganagh development with the LDA. Every local authority in the country is watching this development to see how it works out. If it's a success, the model will be rolled out.

antoinolachtnai

The government can intervene strongly in the market without needing to build.

Govt could give grants and purchase guarantees to developers for completed homes with suitable specification in areas of high demand. This would be cheap enough to do.

The barrier seems to be reluctance to give a subsidy to a developer.

The price of land needs to be tackled in parallel of course.

Dav010

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

The government can intervene strongly in the market without needing to build.

Govt could give grants and purchase guarantees to developers for completed homes with suitable specification in areas of high demand. This would be cheap enough to do.

The barrier seems to be reluctance to give a subsidy to a developer.

The price of land needs to be tackled in parallel of course.

They would have to make those grants/purchase guarantee more appealing than selling properties on the open market.

antoinolachtnai

Dav010 wrote: »

They would have to make those grants/purchase guarantee more appealing than selling properties on the open market.

They would still sell them in open market. The guarantee would only be called in if the developer couldn’t find a purchaser (if there were a general economic collapse for example or if interest rates went high). The point would be to make it easier to get banks to fund construction because they would be assured of a purchaser.

OscarMIlde

The government should ban new build houses being sold to investors for buy to let. An awful lot of new houses built near me in the last few years were bought for high prices and immediately on the rental market. People stuck in the rental trap can't compete with these big investors on price and are stuck renting for another few years until they can get enough together for a dearer house if they do at all.

jimmycrackcorm

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

I want the state - via local authorities or dedicated agencies - to take creative approaches to stimulate the provision of housing where profit is not the sole outcome.

I dont expect the state to be the builder of all of those homes, but could they contribute? Of course - is the provison of council houses that alien a concept? Why couldnt an agency like NAMA engage developers to build houses in a subsidised manner?

I certainly dont expect the state to tackle the problem of rising house prices by inflaming those prices, by buying premuim luxury apartments from the private sector at stupid levels like the ones in the article.

The only creative approach would be to set up a statutory body that would be allowed to develop housing but not be subject to objections by either politicians or nimbys.

Object on basis of increased traffic - nope - you're the one causing traffic by driving.
Building too high - stop watching skyscraper disaster movies.

Yonce

Caranica wrote: »

Again I refer to the Shanganagh development with the LDA. Every local authority in the country is watching this development to see how it works out. If it's a success, the model will be rolled out.

Havnt heard of this..
What is it in a nutshell

mariaalice

The issue is they dont know what to do.

https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/

That is what they have in the UK and it's not without its issues and the serious issue at that there was a proposal to do the same here but parties to the left screamed blue murder about it, and it would possibly only increase prices.

in a market where supply does not meet demand, any intervention is only going to raise prices.

handlemaster

hi! wrote: »

I emailed all my local TDs and then minister for housing and Toasiesch.
The only reply I got was from my local Sinn Fein TD saying they agreed with everything I said. Not much progress at all.

Of course SF did

handlemaster

Shelga wrote: »

I've emailed Darragh O'Brien 3 times in 3 months to ask what the plan is to alleviate supply issues, and have heard nothing back, not a single response. The contempt shown to us by government is just incredible.

Has anyone else had any luck in getting responses from the people in the Dail who are supposed to represent us, yet have made this issue worse and worse and worse over the last decade?

I'm at the end of my rope. Considering leaving again, for the second time in a decade. What's the point of trying to live in Dublin, as a single person. Obviously it's a dire situation for couples and families too, it's just so stressful.

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/bungalow-20-st-brendans-terrace-coolock-dublin-5/3174734


This shack of a house, requiring full refurbishment, went up on Saturday (2 days ago) and is already up to €255k. 13% over asking, within 48 hours, without viewings taking place. I hear nothing from government ministers about the situation, still absolutely no clue when viewings will be happening again.

I just hope it somehow gets the slighest bit better in the next 6 months, or I'm off. The panic levels out there are unreal at the moment.

Every turn people have agreed with the new regulations against landlords. This is what you get people pleasers making laws to please the people. The result is what you have now. Investment in housing is what it is as investors assets are no longer to be viewed as their assets. Every year over the last few years laws have been changed to appease the public with no one politician having the back bone to say this is counter productive

The comment about going if it doesn't get better is laughable. People have a choice to move if they want lots of countries out there to move to.

Idbatterim

Watch realestate4ransom on youtube op, it explains why governments love rip off prices... housing situation here is obviously going to get worse , it has too... shutting down residential construction was idiocy full stop, I dont care about a few more covid cases, it was utter idiocy...

rightmove

OscarMIlde wrote: »

. People stuck in the rental trap can't compete with these big investors on price and are stuck renting for another few years until they can get enough together for a dearer house if they do at all.

Same ppl renting were delighted that the RTB anti LL regulation were brought in. Time and time we were told that the mom and pop LL was bad model and the big investors were the way to go and the regulations didnt bite them the way they did small LL. Its a case of you reap what you sow.

I would have continued to rent out my gaff (while also renting myself at the time) but gov regulation meant I sold my rented house and bought where I lived as I could not find another place to rent.

Idbatterim

Free housing for " the poor" paid for by the poor, who will never own their own home or have to emigrate etc...