[Image for reference to how they see the world](https://i.imgur.com/tRI4UQR.png)
There’s a saying that business is business, but certain interests seem determined to drive a particular narrative that the housing disaster is not in fact the result of ten years of government housing policy but is in fact landlords leaving the market because their feelings are hurt with the mean lefties saying bad things about them. Perhaps it’s best to get a reminder out of the way that there is no and has been no left wing party in government this entire time as some seem to think it’s parties other than FF/FG/Grn who are actually setting government policy.
Now let’s review the facts:
* House prices are at a historical high:
* https://tradingeconomics.com/ireland/housing-index
The fact of the matter is that anyone with property regardless of if they are a landlord or not knows that this is the top of the market pretty much, inflationary and geopolitical concerns don’t have anyone other than estate agents all that optimistic about prices continuing to grow. Many of the “accidental” landlords now have an opportunity to rid themselves of the property they bought at the top of the market back in 08…are they leaving the market because of left wing parties? Bullshit, the profit motive is clear and tangible. People seeking to portray landlords selling now as somehow being otherwise altruistic beings being forced to leave a profession they otherwise love are really pulling the piss and we should all know it…have you ever known a child who grew up wanting to be a landlord?
* Being a landlord is onerous and oppressive.
Most forms of income involve work, it’s not exactly oppression. But let’s establish another fact, there is no regulatory enforcement in Ireland…well almost none, most local authorities give one half resource day a month to the inspections of private properties. So as much as the narrative wants to pretend that these good decent people are suffering heavily under the weight of legislation, the fact of the matter is that they choose if they comply with standards of maintenance or not. Is this unfair to the decent landlords who make the effort, absolutely yes, there are risks and liabilities that come with the role. But being oppressed generally means you have no choice, actual real oppression is what you can’t change, landlords can sell at any time and for a healthy profit too.
* The opposition did this…
No, this goes back to the last ten years of government policy, maybe Labour and FF get dragged in to it, but blaming anyone else for government’s actions is absurd. But that’s what political narrative is all about, it’s about distraction, it’s about misdirection, it about creating a sense of victimhood so that ‘others’ might be blamed, and this sense it’s outright populism as in the populism government supporters love accusing others off. The opposition is somehow both weak and strong at the same time.
This narrative is bullshit, please tell people to fuck off with it.
24 comments
OH NO is carefully crafted narrative of landlords bad, starting to backfire, such a shame.
Nice essay, well formatted.
If you’re someone that worked your whole life and was able to afford to buy a house when you retire to rent out for extra cash and you treat your tenants with respect and don’t charge an arm and a leg for a shed with a bed and a stove then you’re OK in my book. If you’re some scummy corporation with 100s or 1000s of properties that you rent out and have no interest in selling and all you do is gouge rent off people then something should be done about you because you are the problem
It doesn’t matter whether you like or loathe landlords, or whether they’re a victim or lazy. Society needs a rental market. The government will not be getting into the business of renting to 22 year olds. Landlords provide a service for young people who need their own place and aren’t in a position to buy. There is no situation where people go from college to owning their home immediately. Rental accommodation is essential to providing this intermediate step.
Since landlords are leaving the market, it will cause a problem. Landlords are more likely to sell to a young couple and leading to fewer rentals. The problem is that the 28 year olds and over are happy about this because they want to buy instead of rent. But young people will be fucked over by landlords leaving the market
So it doesn’t matter if we shouldn’t call them victims or anything else you want to do to make you feel better. But measures need to be put in place to keep landlords in the market but your argument is just over semantics and doesn’t change what needs to happen.
Nobody has ever claimed landlords are victims.
What has happened is people are asking why so many smaller landlords are leaving the market, leaving what remains to larger landlords or no rental availability at all.
It would be better to ask and understand why this is happening than just painting this picture that all landlords are some pariah section of society.
>but blaming anyone else for government’s actions is absurd. But that’s what political narrative is all about, it’s about distraction, it’s about misdirection, it about creating a sense of victimhood so that ‘others’ might be blamed,
Planning and zoning laws were created to primarily benefit local homeowners. Those are the people who elect politicians, and so the laws are designed to put their interests ahead of anybody else. That’s who I blame. There are very few politicians who won’t object to proposed housing developments if they think it will get them votes.
Some landlords are victims, it’s a fact. My friend bought both houses beside me, him and his family are living next to the house he rents out, in 15 years he’s had to deal with rent not being paid, a muffin/cupcake business being run from it (this person got an electrician to put outlets for ovens in the bedrooms) never paid rent and it cost him 7000 euro for her to leave the house, otherwise it was going to court and she was going to stay rent free until evicted.
He has a family in the house at the minute, the bins are paid with the rent, they never put bins out or even cut the grass. He got a skip last week to get rid of the rubbish from the shed, bins full and stinking, shed full of bags of food waste, the back of the shed was ate by rats, hole big enough to fit a fox, we cleaned the garden, strimmed the grass, weeded. Got rentokil in, told the tenant to get rid of the rubbish every 2 weeks cos bin is paid for.
The worst part was strimming the garden down and finding 3 dead doggies, 2 small yorkies and a wee boxer. We used to hear the dogs barking at night and then around March, the barking stopped, thought the dogs were taken by animal welfare, nope, just died.
He’s taking this tenant via HAP, rent is paid, the can’t legally get rid of her.
My old landlord has 8 houses, most of which he bought in the 1990s. He’s very comfortable.
I really agree with this. Some landlords seem to refuse to accept it’s a business, and businesses come with profits and losses. It’s like they think they’ve a right to profits.
Obviously it sucks on an individual level if investments don’t work out, just like it did for people who were retiring in 2008/09 after their pension value collapsed. But we shouldn’t be creating policies for an essential resource based on some people not being willing to accept their investment might not work out.
It’s not really alive, it’s a zombie narrative being kept on artificial respiration by The Economist and The Wall Street Journal.
How are small landlords making a loss but big landlords arnt? Do you only have to pay these terrible taxes on your first rental property?
Can you get a 3 for 1 deals on the cheap washing machines you need to replace every 4 or 5 years? I do plumbing work for big landlords, they pay good money to my boss to make sure I’m insured and certified and all that.
When I rented off little landlords they always had some aul lad who did the all the handyman stuff, some of them working out of Nissan Micras and collecting the dole. Had one fella change a switch on a shower before, he pulled a chair out of the back of a Fiesta to stand on. I swear to God.
Crap like this is why nobody wants to be a landlord. Most of the people moaning here would be screwed without private landlords.
I know for a fact that there are at least 2 landlords in Dublin with 350+ properties. At a conservative estimation they earn between 500K-700K a month. They are not victims of anything.
Unfortunately they will pedal this narrative, as most of those up top are landlords . Blood boiling
I’ve become so angry at everything since joining reddit 🤔
I’ve recently just left a nightmare houseshare situation and reported the landlord to both the RTB & Revenue.
She made our lives a living hell and she’s not the only landlord out there who acts the same way. If they want to rent out property they need to be human beings first and treat tenants with respect.
They also think they’re entitled to make a profit no matter what. No other investment works that way – you take a certain amount of risk when you invest, and there will always be some losses involved. If you’re not comfortable with that you shouldn’t be a landlord.
And once the mortgage is paid off you have enormous profit pretty much guaranteed with how high rents are.
Name another business where if your customer steels from you, you are obliged to keep trading with them for up to two years.
Where you give your customer an asset valued at 100s of thousands of euros with only a 1 percent security deposit.
Where if they cause thousands of euros worth of damage they get to walk away from the bill with no comeback bar their tiny deposit.
Where if you give a good customer a discount you have to give the same discount to the next customer.
It’s doesn’t matter whether landlords are leaving the market for good or bad reasons – it matters that they are not being replaced.
The landlords have invested in property in order to provide it to people to rent. In doing so they expect their investment to provide a return. If you don’t like that, then invest in your own property and stop complaining.
The fewer the landlords the higher the rent. Keep demonising them and watch your rents keep rising.
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The attitude lately seems to be landlords think they should be able to charge a rent that both covers the mortgage of the place and gives them a profit at the end of the month.
Sure tax them at corporation tax so. Stupid rant disconnected from reality. Government distorted the housing market by its intervention. I say many officials are corrupt legally and benefiting immensely by crazy policies
Who the hell is saying that the housing crisis (disaster) has been caused by landlords leaving the market? Sure every time a landlord leaves the market they just sell the house anyway, for a price that you couldn’t afford.
Like honestly, the amount of hate and energy that has gone into that post. If you put half as much energy into college, getting a better degree, increasing your earnings, or emigrating or whatever…
It’s the fact the government indulges it that really eats me, and I don’t just mean the PPs but the entirety of the establishment. The fact that Prime Time could do a two part special on the housing crisis while letting a property developer completely unchallenged stand up and say he needed “a fifteen percent return on investment” (and if anyone can tell me any other industry where that’s the case I’d be most appreciative, tnx!) Or not point out you can’t solve this crisis without reducing house prices while asking for the ministers opinion on that ….
They’re honestly glorified rent seekers and I wouldn’t be too surprised by how many of the above mentioned enablers are profiting from it frankly.