The financialization of rental housing: Evictions and rent regulation: Fid-Bau Portal

The financialization of rental housing: Evictions and rent regulation

Lima, Valesca

Abstract Evictions in the private rental sector have acquired primary importance in the public debate. Unaffordable rents and insecurity in the private rented sector have been appointed as one of the primary reasons for homelessness. Due to high rental prices and a chronic housing shortage, families who are not able to find alternative accommodation might fall into homelessness when they are evicted from their homes. This study contributes to the current understanding of the conditions that led to the lack of affordable housing and limited housing options in Ireland. While a range of factors contribute to the housing and homelessness crisis in the country, this paper examines current data and legislation relating to the entry of corporate landlords into the private real estate market. In the face of the unhelpful structural trends of rising poverty and increasing homelessness, this work argues that current levels of homelessness are associated with insecurity in the private rented sector and rising rent unaffordability. This paper finds that the current housing policy framework that focuses on temporary remediation is increasing the commitment to financial actors connected to global corporations and collaborating to the weak regulation of the housing market.

Highlights • The financialization of housing has particularly negative impact on low-income households dependent on the PRS • Global investment funds in the private rental sector have greatly expanded their asset portfolios in Ireland. • Despite the recent changes in tenants protection legislation, anti-eviction guarantees for tenants remain vague • REITs are like to be one of the key mechanisms driving housing unaffordability in Ireland.