Rent-control advocates protest outside €1,200p/m apartment in Cork
The Anti Austerity Alliance are staging a protest outside a Cork city apartment this morning to make the case for rent controls.
One-bedroom apartments on Castle Street were recently advertised for €1,200 per month each, the party has said.
One of the properties was visited yesterday by Anti Austerity Alliance Councillor Mick Barry.
"It was far from luxurious or particularly spacious," he said.
"It had a kitchen/living room, a shower/bathroom, a small storage space and a small bedroom.
"It was modest, it was decent, but it certainly wasn't worth anything like €1,200 per month."
Cllr Barry said this morning: "Rents are rocketing in Cork at the moment.
"More and more people are simply being priced out of the market. Others are merely one rent increase away from being made homeless.
"The Anti Austerity Alliance is demanding rent control legislation with teeth to tackle the profiteering that is going on."
Today's protest is being joined by several people affected by the rents crisis including 22-year-old retail worker Tim Feehan who pays €900 per month for a two-bedroom apartment in Douglas.
According to the Anti Austerity Alliance, up until six months ago, he lived in a one- bedroom apartment in the city centre paying €800 per month in an area which recently saw a one-bedroom apartment advertised for €975.
The AAA said that the Dáil has 41 registered landlords from a total of 166 TDs and that four of the nine Cork Fine Gael TDs are registered as landlords.
