Can Sinn Fein fix the housing crisis or is it beyond them or anybody else?

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119498679#Comment_119498679

the bill to buy office blocks then to convert office blocks to apartments would be colossal.

You’d need as a residential dwelling new windows that can open to provide fresh air.

cooking facilities, associated plumbing,

bathrooms, associated plumbing, normally only one or two per floor in an office..you’d need multiples

kitchen with sink with mains water supply of cold potable water, piped suppy of hot water and draining areas…etc..

also mixed business and residential won’t work.

Also..

the owners of said office blocks would have to want to sell, that’s unlikely….they can earn a couple of million a decade for a building in rents so why sell an asset that will make you serious dosh, for decades ?

JP Liz V1

I'd say give Eoin and SF a chance, can they make it worse than currently

Darragh hasn't a clue

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499688#Comment_119499688

Yes, what they plan will make it worse.

Sinn Fein legacy in this state is generally one of creating problems, agro, unfairness, rule breaking…and a disregard for anyone who isn’t supporting their manner of thinking..evidently a disregard for taxpayers.

to genuinely believe they will solve housing? FFS.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499624#Comment_119499624

What law is in place to stop a landlord from using their property for AirBnB?

So now you are going to create a vacant tax but only have it valid for RPZ?

If you have the information then how many houses?

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499688#Comment_119499688

Did you see the Darragh v Eoin debate?

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499688#Comment_119499688

Darragh knows exactly what he is doing. Make no mistake. He'll be rounding the wagons around the latest hypocrisy of Troy. They all will.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499006#Comment_119499006

It's about 5% of the population. I'm not sure what you'll solve with that few people.

Flinty997

Empty home tax.. from wiki

"....In the Canadian city of Vancouver, the empty home tax is one percent of the assessed value of the home. A CBC report said that rental vacancy rate rose only 0.1% after the tax started. The report also said that the tax was going to bring the city $38 million.[3] The city spent $10 million putting this new tax in 2018 into effect.[4] ..."

Theres a long list of things that have been lobbied for over the last few decades to fix housing, usually targeting one demographic or another at the expense of another. But it's musical chairs on the titanic.

You can't fix the problem if you increase demand (people) and build new housing at fraction of the rate we did when we had less people. The maths don't work.

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499488#Comment_119499488

Completely agree on Air BnB - there are also a lot of corporate lets out there. But how will this be enforced? Regulation is badly needed - one way is to legislate that there needs to be a property id number for all lettings via platforms. Then ban lettings in certain areas.

I also think a vacancy tax is not an easy tax to collect. Who will collect it? Will it be by self assessment? Needs to be lessons from the vacant site levy which was poorly designed and largely ineffective.

How much LA housing stock is vacant? That is low hanging fruit.

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499742#Comment_119499742

What law is in place to stop a landlord from using their property for AirBnB?

Currently you are not allowed to operate an airbnb in an RPZ without planning permission. But clearly this is not enforced.

So now you are going to create a vacant tax but only have it valid for RPZ?

Yes. That's my suggestion.

If you have the information then how many houses?

I have the information of the extent of vacancy from the census. That information clearly shows the vacancy rate is too high. Hence the need for the tax. I don't know precisely how many houses that will bring back into more productive use but it will bring the vacancy rate down which is required.

Banana Republic 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119498078#Comment_119498078

And you think SF will! There one and only priority is a united Ireland the rest is spoof.

Banana Republic 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119498639#Comment_119498639

Blame those fleeing war, good one

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500262#Comment_119500262

Appoint Revenue to enforce it with the LPT. Every property owner has to file an LPT return annually. Make it part of that, with these criteria:

• Apply only in RPZs.
• Exempt all PPRs.
• Exempt all properties with an RTB registered tenancy either current or terminated within last 6 months.
• Exempt all properties with planning permission for STLs.
• Exempt all properties with dependent relative living in them.
• Task Revenue with collecting the tax. Stiff interest for non payment.
• Make a compliance cert requirement of sale or RTB registered tenancy.
• Compliance cert requires either proof of payment or proof of exemption.

So as part of the LPT return all property owners are required to either pay it or state reasons why it is exempt.

I don't see how the above is either difficult to implement, or difficult to enforce. In 2011-2013 sort of time, pre LPT, we had the NPPR charge which was similiar. It was administered by the council, and self assessed. Sure people could have just ignored it, but even now if you're buying a property a competent solicitor will check that there is no NPPR liability outstanding from that time. i.e you can't sell your property without paying it, and interest.

Alongside this I would remove many of the disincentives to landlords, and make it far more attractive for them to keep their properties occupied.

I agree with you the re LA housing stock being low hanging fruit. Again another indicator of mismanagement of a problem rather than an insurmountable problem.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500313#Comment_119500313

If you are going to offer sanctuary. At least build a sanctuary to house them. Temporary buildings whatever.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500262#Comment_119500262

How can you ban letting? People want to rent not sure why people are so confused by this and the answer is to ban people from renting?

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500299#Comment_119500299

Again, “clearly it is not enforced” so what are the numbers? How many houses?

So let’s go again, you have info from the census but no idea how many actual houses are available but you have decided it’s too high? Plus you think it will bring vacancy down but in reality you don’t know?

How much is it going to cost to create and manage this new tax? Will the investment provide the rewards? Because remember you have cut out probably 80-90% of the country with the vacancy tax only in zones

This is the information we should be asking for, not asking for a tax in the blind hope it might work, waste millions and end up with f**k all

What if the millions could be taken and buy X amount of houses which could be used to house people? What if that results in more houses becoming available? Would that not make more sense?

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119498937#Comment_119498937

52% rate of tax applies to every euro earned over €100k. 55% if you're self employed. What % would you like this increased to?

TDs aren't paid enough. Cut the number of TDs but raise the salary, and attract high calibre people who might actually solve these problems, instead of the current crop of teachers and college drop outs that fill the Dail.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500262#Comment_119500262

What makes you think this government is going to ensure 'regulations' are enforced? Look at one of their own 'top class' TD's and the 'regulations'.

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119499302#Comment_119499302

If the mother wanted to put a roof over her childrens' heads she should be bloody grateful for the house in Leitrim. Why should the state be offering her a pick of houses in Dublin?

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500355#Comment_119500355

It will not cost millions to implement this tax. It is very simple to implement and enforce. The infrastructure and ability is already in place. Revenue already added something to LPT returns last year to collect information about whether or not properties were vacant!! Nothing to stop them simply adding an extra charge.

There is no need for a load of costly discussion, analysis, debate and delay. Just get on with it.

It's as simple as this:

Do we have a high level of vacancies?

The answer is yes.

Is a high level of vacancy a bad thing during a housing crisis?

The answer is yes.

Thus property owners should be discouraged from leaving properties vacant. How do we do this?

The answer is, like everything else, by taxation.

It won't cost much to implement. Not a colossal waste of money.

If it does end up with **** all that's because the houses that are vacant become occupied, and that's what tax is meant for. It's not meant to be a windfall for the revenue.

Irelandsnumberone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500372#Comment_119500372

Not much money to be made by developers, mates of mates etc in that

The Mighty Quinn

I don't think SF would solve a housing crisis if in government. Nor do I think FF/FG will solve it if they remain.

Also can't imagine things would change that much if SF in power, as "the unelected government", i.e., the senior civil servants behind the scenes are the same people pulling the strings.

is_that_so

As others have said it's the complexity of it that flummoxes everyone. Granted our present situation was exacerbated by a lost decade of little to no building(c 2008-2018) but the huge scope of this is fixing private housing supply, persuading some to adjust to alternative form of living i.e. apartments, better planning and of course reversing 40 years of selling off and failing to build public housing stock.

Can SF really fix all of this? I think it's extremely unlikely as much of their strategy here is piecemeal and largely consists of promises of huge public building projects with little precise detail to show how that might happen. There is nothing wrong with having ambitions but SF have set the bar so high for themselves that even half-achieving it opens them up to the likelihood of voters feeling betrayed and lots of the kind of daily scorn they heap on the incumbents.

The real trouble though is that while housing may be key to the next election it's only one part of government and there will be many, many areas where they could fail just as badly as they claim the government is doing.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500396#Comment_119500396

Ambition is good

But the problem I have with Sinn Fein is they have nothing to back up ambition and then slag off what everyone else has come up with. You ask them about housing and they give buzz words and sayings, ask them what is behind that and the answer is "well FF/FG done this"...ask them again and the answer is "well FF/FG done this".

Sinn Fein are the ultimate hurlers in the ditch, anyone thinking they will resolve the housing crisis is going to be in for a huge shock. As I said, look at post one, the Sinn Fein supporters are already making excuses and they haven't even got near government yet. This is just not a once off but I have seen a recurring theme now with all of these Sinn Fein supporters that they are backing away from the "SF will fix everything" and moving to "oh we can't fix everything because of XYZ"

That should be enough of a warning for a lot of people to what Sinn Fein are all about, point the finger politics

Housing is only one part, health is critical as well to the next election. Not trying to switch the topic but in reality we have 70% home ownership, how many houses will be built til the next election, those people in houses will no longer consider it as important as health. Housing is just one key part

Bishop of hope

Housing regulations and energy regulations have set the bar so high that costs are now astronomical as regards any type of housing.

SF are actually fuelling our inflated rental pricing by promising to freeze rental prices.

No,SF nor any govt can't fix our current housing crisis, I don't know if it can be solved even. That's about the reality of what's ahead for our younger generation.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500392#Comment_119500392

It is probably standard for politicians to bring the most idiotic, ill-informed and dangerous policies to their department heads, only to have is explained in the simplest language possible, the damage those policies could inflict. Of course some times they plough on. Some young kid in the finance department with a calculator is going to say to Pearse and Mary Lou, “you two are a couple of idiots, how are you going to pay for this? Tax everyone and take money from other services?”

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500314#Comment_119500314

Fair points on the vacant tax levy. I have an open mind on solutions

You are absolutely right re. landlords. There needs to be a way to incentivise smaller landlords to stay in the market. The sense I have is that the system is broken and part of that is legacy to the financial crisis (accidental landlords wanting to leave the market) but also low returns, but perhaps the balance of power has shifted too much towards the tenant?

Belgium has a good system which protects landlords (two months rent is in a blocked account + tenants have to pay for damage) and tenants (security of tenure) with increases linked to inflation (wages are typically increase linked to inflation).

I also think that there needs to be a pension related product to allow individual landlords invest in a rental property tax efficiently (committed to a long term investment). Probably can be done now via a company set-up but I would imagine far more complicated than it needs to be.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500484#Comment_119500484

The only way to incentivise smaller landlords to stay in market is to make it easier for them to throw out tenants and to also chase non paying tenants.

That won't happen because tenants at the moment have demanded the new laws which give them all the power. We had a case on here of a person renting her apartment while on travels, returned and the people wouldn't move out. She ended up in court trying to get her own property back. Disgraceful carry on.

Landlords, small ones, look at that and go AirBnB a lot easier and they are 100% right

No party in Ireland has said they will change the laws in favour of LL, so that’s why large LL are required

The sad things like everything is the small few of bad tenants that ruin it for everyone but at the moment they are let off and it’s the LL that gets screwed

Shoog

One solution seldom mentioned is to build houses in factories at scale. The efficiencies are significant in that each process can be optimised and system built houses can be far more energy efficient by design with all the on site compromises designed out. The result is far better houses with far fewer skilled labourers to build them.

This is the model that builds houses in Germany and Scandinavia and it allows building to be ramped up significantly over one off developments. Better houses, cheaper and faster. Combine this with councils/government been the direct purchaser building onto already owned land banks and you could transform the housing market in a relatively short time at less cost then asking developers to solve the problem for you.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119497817#Comment_119497817

Exactly. Maybe they should live on the street for 5 years. It'll be tough but by the end they'll be able to afford a cottage in laois and have a 5 hour round commute to dublin to look forward to. Oh and they wont have central heating for the first 3 years.