Housing: NI Assembly overturns private rent cap cut

Assembly members (MLAs) have voted to overturn a proposal that would have cut housing rents for every private renter in Northern Ireland by 10%, just weeks after it was allowed to pass.

The original amendment had come from People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll.

Sinn Féin Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey urged MLAs not to support it.

But they and most other parties in the chamber, bar the Democratic Unionist Party, did not oppose it during an oral vote at its consideration stage.

On Monday, DUP MLA Paul Frew said it had not been a "mistake" and accused Sinn Féin of "hypocrisy" ahead of the assembly election.

The Private Tenancies Bill aims to strengthen rights of private tenants, with new legislation to stop rents being increased more than once in a year, as well as ensuring private renters will not be asked to pay more than one month's deposit up front.

But two weeks ago, during the consideration stage of the bill - the key stage where draft legislation can be amended - MLAs seemingly backed Mr Carroll's proposal to cut rents for every private renter by 10%.

The West Belfast MLA said it would help to deal with the "commodification of housing".

Ms Hargey had at that stage spoken against the move, as well as MLAs from the DUP, UUP, SDLP and Alliance.

But when an oral vote was called, Sinn Féin and some other parties did not oppose it and it passed without a division.

On Monday, Ms Hargey said she had since been advised that the amendment "put the whole bill outside competence" and ultimately at risk of falling.

She brought a new proposal to remove that duty from the bill.

Mr Frew rejected suggestions that the amendment had passed by mistake and said: "No-one was asleep at the wheel.

"They (Sinn Féin) were so spooked by this, they got themselves into such a muddle and the minister did one thing but the party did another."

The DUP communities committee chair Paula Bradley said the assembly needed to make "good legislation, not populist" legislation.

But Ms Hargey described the bill as "a good piece of legislation if it goes through".

The minister said she wanted to make it clear that she is for rent controls and bringing forward robust legislation to deal with it.

The bill will now have to go for its final stage before it can receive royal assent and become law.