Rent supplement: time for taxpayers to use their market power
The last few Daft.ie Rental Reports have showed remarkable stability in rents in many parts of the country. This post outlines how rent supplement may be acting as a floor on residential rents in Ireland. It compares the ratio between average rents and maximum rent supplement in 2007 and now, which highlights just how serious the problem is. Working tenants can now effectively be outbid by welfare tenants, who have no incentive to haggle, in most parts of the country. Read more