{"id":311286,"date":"2026-01-30T09:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/311286\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T09:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:14:07","slug":"big-builders-say-rental-reforms-are-unconstitutional-and-warn-minister-of-legal-action-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/311286\/","title":{"rendered":"Big builders say rental reforms are unconstitutional and warn Minister of legal action \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the country\u2019s biggest home builders have warned the Government<\/a> its proposed rental<\/a> sector reforms are unconstitutional and threatened legal action if they fail to engage with them on it.<\/p>\n

The property developers warned Minister for Housing James Browne<\/a> and T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris<\/a> that the Government\u2019s proposed reforms are inconsistent with both the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights<\/a> (ECHR). They have held out the prospect of taking legal action should the Minister for Housing fail to engage with them prior to the legislation\u2019s introduction on March 1st next.<\/p>\n

In letters sent on January 8th and 23rd last, copies of which have been seen by The Irish Times, October Investments chief David Daly, a developer with more than 45 years\u2019 experience in the residential and commercial property sectors, said the proposed reforms \u201cpose significant constitutional issues, relating to proportionality, lawfulness and property rights\u201d.<\/p>\n

Warning of the potential consequences of a refusal by the Minister to have a \u201cmeaningful exchange and meeting\u201d with him and his fellow developers in advance of the legislation\u2019s introduction, Mr Daly said: \u201cIn the unlikely event that you refuse to engage with us, then quite obviously, it follows that we expressly reserve all of our rights. We trust this will not be necessary and look forward to engaging with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Daly\u2019s letters to the Minister were sent with the support of Michael Stanley, chief executive of publicly listed home builder Cairn Homes<\/a>, Ballymore Group<\/a> founder and chairman Se\u00e1n Mulryan, Marlet Property Group<\/a> chief Pat Crean, and the veteran Dublin housebuilder Bernie Carroll.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Small landlords can issue eviction notice at any time under new rules if selling to pay debtsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Mr Daly wrote in the first instance to the Minister on January 8th to outline what he described as his and other developers\u2019 \u201ccore concerns\u201d in relation to the proposed rental sector reforms, and to seek a meeting to discuss these issues. <\/p>\n

As part of that letter which he copied to Simon Harris, Mr Daly enclosed a legal opinion produced by his company\u2019s legal advisers, Byrne Wallace Shields.<\/p>\n

Referring to that legal advice, he said: \u201cThe legal paper outlines key observations as well as recommendations to ensure that any reforms are proportionate, lawful, and consistent with property rights under Bunreacht na h\u00c9ireann.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief among the proposals causing concern to Mr Daly and his fellow developers are the proposed ban on no-fault evictions for \u201clarge landlords\u201d (defined as those with more than four tenancies). The measure, which would not apply to landlords with three tenancies or fewer, would, according to Mr Daly\u2019s legal advice, represent an \u201cunjust attack\u201d on a large landlord\u2019s property rights under the Constitution. It would also be in breach of the right to property of Article 1 Protocol 1 of the ECHR, the advice states. <\/p>\n

Commenting on the potential impact the Government\u2019s current proposals would have on developers\u2019 ability to finance the construction of residential units, he said: \u201cFrom a strictly funding perspective it is imperative that banks, investors and foreign funds have a high degree of certainty and confidence around the valuation of their investments. It is our view that the proposals \u2013 particularly those concerning no-fault evictions in the event of a sale \u2013 will negatively impact on valuations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Daly added that it was the view of the developers that the legislation represented \u201can unlawful and ostensible interference with constitutional property rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he and his fellow developers were ready and willing to work with the Minister and his department to \u201cassist in developing appropriate policy solutions that would fully preserve the intention of the proposals while not presenting a breach of constitutional rights under Bunreacht na h\u00c9ireann.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Mr Daly\u2019s initial letter is understood to have been met with a pro-forma acknowledgment from the Minister\u2019s department, he has yet to secure a meeting to discuss their concerns. He wrote again to both Mr Browne and the T\u00e1naiste last week, asking the Minister to respond to his request for a meeting as \u201ca matter of urgency and no later than five business days\u201d from the date of his letter (January 23rd). The Irish Times understands he has yet to receive a response. <\/p>\n

A Department of Housing spokesman said the legislation is \u201cnecessary to drive greater supply of properties to rent and to protect tenants\u201d. He said it was drafted in coordination with the Attorney General and has as its \u201cfundamental objective\u201d a balancing of tenant and landlord rights. The Housing Agency undertook extensive engagement with industry and other stakeholders as part of its evaluation of the rent regulation, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of the country\u2019s biggest home builders have warned the Government its proposed rental sector reforms are unconstitutional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[39655,9,10,16080,18,23937,13,14,3428,6,8752,21681,19,17,4770,11,12,15,16,99113,5,4097,44,7,8],"class_list":["post-311286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ballymore","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-cairn-homes","tag-eire","tag-european-convention-of-human-rights-echr","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-government","tag-headlines","tag-housing-crisis","tag-housing-demand","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-browne","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-marlet-property-group","tag-news","tag-renting","tag-simon-harris","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115983290491115622","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}