Working man in Mayo had to 'send wife home' because of sharp rent increase
The sharp increase in rents in the Ballyhaunis area is putting severe pressure on workers staffing the local meat processing sector. One local worker who has worked at a local meat plant for several years explained he had to send his wife home because he can no longer afford to rent a home in Ballyhaunis.
“I earn around €550 net per week, I was paying €1,200 euros a month to rent a house, now the landlord wants €1,500 a month. I had no option but to leave the house and rent a small room in a shared house with younger people working in the factory. My wife returned home to Slovakia.”
Rental rates for semi-detached homes in Ballyhaunis have increased dramatically in recent years.
Rents in the Maples estate went from €600 in 2012 to €800 in 2019 to €1,200 in 2024, data from Internet accommodation searches shows.
Rents in Ballyhaunis now appear to be surging further yet wage growth has not kept pace.
Local estate agent Kevin Kirrane explained that the government’s rent pressure zone, which covers most of the country and limits rent increases, should not let a landlord put the rent from €1200 to €1500, “if everybody is following the rules”.
“The landlord may say the tenant left voluntarily, but he didn’t. He left because he was told the rent was going up. It needs looking into.
“If a tenant leaves voluntarily then the landlord can reset the rent to market rent,” explained Kirrane. Good quality three-bed houses are currently able to fetch €1,500 in rent, he said, but only if in good condition.
“I was asked to do one lately at €1,500 but it was not that well presented. There were no takers. It needs painting and a really good cleaning.” Nonetheless, demand for housing is high, said Kirrane. “I believe landlords are getting properties vacant on the pretense it’s going to the open market then suddenly it’s rented again. The landlord can’t register the new rent as the RTB (Rental Tenancies Board) will pick up on the fact termination was based on the property going for sale and it should be rented at the old rent not market rent, so again the RTB should pick up on this.” Some landlords, said Kirrane, are operating in the black market, “to get market rents.”
