Construction BUSINESS

The rents are now higher in Dublin then during the boom and deposit lending falling, one – third of the people think the Government should build more houses itself for tackling the house problems in Ireland, to make the first move.

This is based on the research from Royal London, one of Ireland’s leading protection specialists. Royal London recently commissioned a nationwide survey, conducted by IReach, of 1,000 people throughout the country to see how they think the housing crisis can be managed. They also found out, that 28% of the people think, that there should be a strict rent control applied by the government and 21% think the bureaucracy around building new homes should be trim.

Joe Charles of Royal London explained, “Property and housing is a huge issue facing this country at the moment, and it is very much at the forefront of people’s minds. Supply shortages, lending restrictions and a lack of funding to deal with housing and homeless issues, are really impacting the lives of thousands of Irish people and families. So it stands to reason that there are some strong views out there on this topic. With that in mind, our survey findings will be of interest to many, including perhaps our next Government.”

The Royal London inquiry asked informants:

Their is a massive reduction in the number of homes for sale and rent that is shown in many different reports as well. What should the government wage to combat the current house crisis, what should the next government prioritize?

• Cut the level of bureaucracy to speed up building new homes  21%
• The Government should build more houses itself  32%
• Create financial incentives to encourage landowners /developers to build more homes 19%
• Apply strict rent controls  28%

Joe went on to say, “At the core of the whole problem is the issue of supply and funding. Construction of housing has slowed down to very low levels. In 2006 more than 93,000 houses were built, in 2015 this figure was estimated to have reached just over 12,500, with the medium term demand for new housing forecast to be up to 30,000 units per annum.”

The Royal London inquiry results revealed:

• More men than women would be in favor of the Government building more houses themselves (35% versus 29%), but more women than men (34% versus 22%) would rather see strict rent controls as worthwhile.
• Conversely, support for more Government development of houses grows as the age of respondents increases; from 22% of 18 to 34 year olds; to 33% of 35-54 year olds; to 43% of those aged older then 55.
• Just 12% of those over 55 think creating financial incentives for more builds is the answer. Overall, this rose to just under 20% of respondents despite this being mooted by many commentators as the best solution to our housing challenges.
• Differences in ages were also pronounced.  With rents having increased by 9.8% nationally last year*, it is perhaps unsurprising  that 35% of 18-34 years old want to see strict rent controls. Whereas just 1 in 5 of those over 55 thinks this is the answer.

Joe’s result, “It’s interesting that our survey results reveal that more people think that the solution to this lies directly with the Government than the private sector, with 32% saying the State should build more houses and only 19% saying there should be financial incentives to encourage new builds.

The housing crisis was a major issue for many of the electorate in the recent general election and the next administration will be faced with a big challenge to help rectify it. As our Royal London survey reveals, for many it is a priority for the Government to address this growing problem – but with no one simple answer as a solution.”

Royal London is the largest mutual life, pensions and investment company in the UK and Ireland with group funds under management of over €110 billion. Group businesses provide around 9.1 million policies and employ 2,988 people.