Mary Lou McDonald: The decision by Nicola Sturgeon to freeze rents is one direct response to the cost of living crisis. Still no move to reduce and freeze rents by FF/FG govt. Time to catch up!

21 comments

1. 

2. Is it legal to freeze rents in the eu? Didn’t Berlin try this only for it to knocked down by the high court.

3. I know I will get heavily downvoted by the SF brigade, but this sort of populist soundbite will lead to reduced rental supply and creates as many problems as it fixes. We deserve better than this from the leader of a party which expects to be in the next government. And it’s time that other politicians grew a spine and stopped dancing to the SF tune, there is still plenty of the electorate which recognises that easy-fix solutions are not the answer to the problems we face.

4. 

5. I weep for the future when SF get in

   Think Ireland is expensive now?

6. Sinn Fein have the Finance Minister and the Housing Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly in caretaker roles at the minute. Is Mary Lou pushing this ahead in the north?

7. It’s irritating how we’re always playing catch up.

8. Tbh I think all the landlords pouting and stomping their feet threatening to leave the market if a rent freeze is enacted are full of crap. They’ll still be creamin it. I mean what are they gonna do get real jobs?

9. Lol, then why did SF up north do a U-turn and [vote down a nationawide rent cut of 10% 6 months ago?](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/ni-wide-10-rent-cut-halted-after-sinn-fein-u-turns-to-vote-down-proposal-41420034.html)

   Absolute spoofer!

10. What we really need is an expansion of deemed disposal to property – so that every e.g. 4 years you have to pay capital gains on second/third/etc. properties…

11. That’s a great way to make sure nobody goes through the expense and hassle of buying a rental property.

12. No incentive for a government to freeze rent when most of the politicians are landlords

13. Has she frozen rents in the north ?

14. It’s simply not going to work to make it less profitable for landlords to exist, given they are already leaving the market as quick as they can.

    Plus, all those institutional landlords who are financing the building of new rental accommodation, are going to pause financing new places.

    Just allow the 2% that is currently allowed, and give the difference directly to the renters in terms of some rebate.

    We then don’t destroy the potential for new supply and protect renters from cost increases.

15. Are people still trying to pretend that landlords are leaving the market because the rent isn’t high enough? Some of the people in this country won’t be happy until it’s in ruins again.

16. Just let me build slums, flophouses and any sort of housing I want, crisis will be gone.

17. The fucking Palestine twitter pic, Mary Lou really knows how to play to her audience.

18. A rent freeze is useless at this point anyway. People can’t afford rent right now, doesn’t matter if its by a few hundred quid or a thousand. We need rent control in the form of a massive reduction across the board, through legislation or taxation or whatever other means

19. It’s a populist move and not a very smart one. One the rental market will pay dearly for. Its different if she targeted large corporate apartment block owners but private landlords will sell in their droves

20. They should also prohibit landlords from holding empty properties to manipulate the market. And they should deregulate the construction market and change the zoning of cities to allow more medium-density and high-density mixed-use buildings (near train stations and public transport hubs, and empty spaces such as shopping mall parking lots) .

21. Why would the turkeys vote for xmas?