Threshold survey finds 'deteriorating' sense of security among renters

• Published date: 23 June 2022
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

The survey of 212 renters who had sought help from Threshold found, while 62 per cent aspired to buy a home within the next five years, just 28 per cent felt they would be able to afford one

The percentage of people who are renting because they cannot buy their own home has increased from 49 per cent in 2020 to 64 per cent in 2022, the charity's annual tenant sentiment survey shows.

John Mark McCafferty, Threshold chief executive, said it was clear tenants' feelings of security in their accommodation had "deteriorated" in the last two years. Mr McCafferty said the crisis in the rental sector was being felt across all income ranges, family types and ages.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they were renting because they were unable to afford to buy a home. One in five said they were in the private rented market as they were unable to get social housing, while 14 per cent of those surveyed said they rented by choice.

More than 70 per cent of people aged between 25 and 34 said they were stuck in the rental market as they were not able to afford to buy a home.

Some 44 per cent of people in all categories said they did not feel secure in their current tenancy, with one-parent families reporting the highest levels of insecurity in their rented accommodation.

Half of those surveyed said they had been in their current rental accommodation for less than two years. One in five tenants said their rent had been increased in the last 12 months.

The most common reason tenants said they had left their previous rented home was as the landlord had...