I-RES Rack-Renters Targeted By Éirígí In Sandyford

Brian Leeson

November 8, 2019

News

I-RES Rack Renters Targeted By Éirígí In Sandyford

Éirígí activists today (November 8th) carried out a direct action to counter the lies of I-RES REIT, the largest rack-renting landlord in Ireland. The action saw the wording of an I-RES slogan on the hoarding of a building site in Sandyford changed from ‘Building Communities For The Future’ changed to ‘ Destroying Communities For The Future. An I-RES REIT logo was also replaced by a more accurate Éirígí-designed logo.

Before and after. I-RES propaganda gets the Éirígí treatment in Sandyford.

Speaking from Sandyford, Éirígí’s Brian Leeson said,

“I-RES REIT already own almost 4,000 homes, making them the largest private landlord in Ireland. 700 of those homes are in here Sandyford and they have plans to build over 500 more.

I-RES put a lot of effort and money into their corporate branding, presenting themselves as some sort of community-orientated, caring, service provider. Nothing could be further from the truth. In truth I-RES are among the worst rack-renting landlords in the country.

In this part of Dublin I-RES have been to the fore of pushing rents higher and higher. Where they have led both traditional and other corporate landlords have followed. This time last year they illegally attempted to increase the rents of tenants in The Maples development by 25%.

I-RES are currently charging an extortionate €2,600+ per month for their average two-bedroom apartments. These sorts of rents are leading to over-crowded apartments and to people sacrificing essentials like food, heat and clothes to make sure they have enough money to pay their rent.

Our action today challenged the notion that I-RES are 'building communities for the future’. We, who have lived in this area all of our lives, know that I-RES are in fact destroying communities in the here and now.

The I-RES logo was replaced by a more accurate one. The extortionate rent that I-RES amounts to nothing but legalised theft.

I-RES are here to generate maximum profit and nothing else. The obscene salaries that are being paid to their executives provide proof of their true motivations. They don’t care about the impact their greed has on their tenants or the wider community.

Today’s action is the first in a series that will be taking place in this area in the run-up to Christmas. We are not going to allow I-RES and the other corporate landlords to continue their rack-renting without challenge.

I would strongly encourage anyone that wants to take a stand against rack-renting landlords and fight for UP Housing to get in touch today. Together we can win the fight for housing justice.”