Northern Ireland politician calls for rent controls to stop spiralling rents

Rent controls do not work for landlords, but they do work for tenants, claims a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Northern Ireland.

Speaking during Members’ Statements in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Gerry Carroll MLA claimed the Minister for Communities has failed to tackle the housing crisis in Northern Ireland and called for rent controls to be introduced.

The news comes after Northern Ireland landlords could soon face some of the longest Notice to Quit periods in the UK under new legislation.

Do not want to challenge private landlords

Mr Carroll explained he’s developing a Member’s Bill to introduce rent controls and an abolition of no-fault evictions.

He said: “It has been reported in the news that private rents have increased by 50% in the past five years. That is obviously shocking and appalling and should be condemned, but it is not entirely surprising.

“The Executive parties have failed on private rents: in my view, they do not want to challenge private landlords.

“We have gone way beyond the point of not wanting to annoy or aggravate people. This is a question of power and what parties here will do to challenge power and wealth: the power and wealth of private landlords.

“I am developing a Member’s Bill on housing that, hopefully, after going through the hurdles, will deal with some of the problems. It will aim to freeze rents for a period of years, introduce a no-fault eviction ban to ensure that people cannot be evicted by their landlords and, over a period, introduce rent reductions.”

Rent controls work for tenants

He adds: “It is the view of many people, not just me, that the Minister for Communities has absolutely failed to tackle the housing crisis, particularly in the private rented sector, hence my Member’s Bill and other people’s action on housing.

“The Minister, alongside his party colleagues and others, has tried to pour cold water over rent controls and caps. To paraphrase him, he says that they do not work and that he fears that they would be counterproductive.

I say this: rent controls do not work for landlords, but they clearly work for private renters by reducing the money that comes out of their account every month and, obviously, putting more money in their pocket.

“To the Minister and his officials, if they are listening, I say this: rent controls exist in various countries, including Denmark, Malta, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and France. They are not perfect, but they exist. It is time for rent controls and rent reductions to ease the pressure on private renters and put more money back in their pockets.”

Rent controls do more harm than good

However, as previously reported by Property118, rent controls do more harm than good and actually do far more damage than benefit tenants.

According to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), while rent controls may initially lower rents for existing tenants, they typically lead to higher rents in uncontrolled sectors and reduce housing supply and quality.

Even in Scotland, the rent cap has been blamed for soaring rents, which have increased by 11.6%.

Data by Hamptons reveals Scottish landlords are increasing rents at a faster pace than anywhere else in Great Britain because of rent controls reshaping the market.

Lead analyst at Hamptons, David Fell, said: “The evidence from Scotland suggests that rent controls rarely work as intended.

“At best, they delay rent increases; at worst, they set a new benchmark where landlords feel compelled to increase their rents every year by the maximum allowed.

“Faced with uncertainty over future rules, many landlords choose to raise rents little and often rather than risk falling far below market levels.”

You can watch Mr Carroll’s full statement from 36:02 below