Sinn Féin to bring forward motion to increase tax on bulk buying of homes for private rental

SINN FÉIN HAS today revealed plans to bring forward a Dáil motion next week in a bid to tackle the practice of investment funds bulk buying new homes.

The move comes after it was reported by the Business Post last week that an investment fund had bought 46 out of 54 homes (85%) in a new housing estate in north Dublin.

Sinn Féin’s motion will be debated on Wednesday when the Dáil returns from its Christmas recess.

The motion will seek to implement a punitive tax (in this case stamp duty) of at least 17% on the purchase of homes by investment funds to stop the practice of bulk buying. Currently stamp duty is charged at 10% for such sales.

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Sinn Féin spokesperson on finance, Pearse Doherty TD said the recent Dublin example was not the first time this happened and said it will not be the last.

“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have allowed these funds to push up house prices and snap up family homes under the noses of workers and families who have saved every euro they can to buy their first home,” Doherty said.

In May 2021 the government introduced a 10 percent stamp duty on the bulk purchase of family homes by investment funds. 

However, in July 2021, the Government passed a controversial amendment to allow funds to side-step the 10% stamp duty if they lease back homes to the State for social housing.

Doherty said today that Sinn Féin warned at the time that the charge was “too low to act as an effective deterrent”.

“Since this Government took office, house prices have risen by 28 percent with a first time buyer now needing an income of €95,000 to buy a new home, and a first time buyer in Dublin now needing an income of €127,000 to buy a new home,” Doherty said. 

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