A new study of the Irish property market has found that the introduction of rent controls fails tenants, landlords, and homeowners. DJ Alexander Ltd, part of the Lomond Group which is the largest lettings and estate agency in Scotland, looked at recent research by economist Jim Power and commissioned in the Republic of Ireland by the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers and the Irish Property Owners’ Association.

The research (which covers many of the changes which have occurred and are proposed for the private rented sector in Scotland and the rest of the UK) found that constantly changing regulations and more punitive tax regimes led to more individual landlords leaving the market and being replaced by institutional landlords and that rents, rather than reducing, actually increased as a result of the new policies.

The report found that there was evidence that the creation of Rent pressure Zones created a two-tier rental market reducing the amount of quality accommodation whilst also impacting on the value of all private properties in an area. Rent control areas were found to reduce property values for all owners not just landlords and had limited impact on the levels of rent charged.