Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe is calling for a ban on rent increases for buildings with F-rated energy or lower to “protect vulnerable people who are having difficulty paying bills.”
Mr Cuffe was speaking on Newstalk Breakfast and later on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show when he said that tenants who were living in poorly insulated buildings were struggling to afford rising energy bills and, in some cases, rent increases.
Ireland should follow the example of Belgium where the government had indicated that landlords could not increase rent unless energy efficiency was improved.
“It's a sensible idea, and I think it would do a lot to protect tenants who are experiencing the cost of living crisis in Ireland at the moment.”
Landlords could upgrade their ratings through insulation in the attic, or thermostatic valves on the radiators, he said. It would not cost the earth and could bring down heating bills significantly.
Mr Cuffe said that “relatively simple” measures could save on bills, from draught-proofing doors and windows to thermostatic valves on radiators or putting rolls of insulation in the attic.
The MEP said his concern was not for landlords, it was for tenants who pay the bills. “Up to now we have no real reason or motivation for the landlord to improve the energy performance of the building.”
When asked if there was a fear that landlords could raise rents if they carry out improvements, Mr Cuffe said that was not necessarily the case. “Even if the rent does go up, at least there's a saving on the energy bills.
"Really what I want to try and do here is reduce the amount of energy that's being used in buildings and protect vulnerable people who are having real difficulty paying bills at the moment.”
The measures which he was proposing would not mean that tenants would have to move out, and the Government would safeguard against this.
Rent pressure zones would ensure this did not happen. Mr Cuffe said the rent increase ban would also help to tackle issues such as climate change.
The bigger picture was the level of greenhouse gas emissions coming from buildings, which was about a third of the European Union's carbon budget and about 40 percent of energy.
