Sinn Féin has slammed the government over its new rent regulations and described them as "too weak", "too late", and they do not constitute a real rent freeze.

Rent reviews will now be limited to a two-yearly basis with some other measures aimed at dealing with the rent crisis.

Housing spokesperson, Dessie Ellis TD, said: "I've been calling for rent control and rent certainty for over years, the Minister himself mentioned a need for this in January. Why have we waited so long for so little?

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"In the meantime many people have become homeless due to rising rents and many others are now at risk of losing their home due to already unaffordable rents.

"The government plans do not amount to a rent freeze as claimed for many tenants. New tenancies will be not be limited and anyone that has not received a rent increase in the last 12 months will now likely be facing a large hike because the government has done nothing to limit how much increases can be apart from harking back to existing regulations which have failed utterly."

(CD/JP)