The State’s largest residential landlord has turned down an invitation to appear before the Oireachtas housing committee as its senior executives are “exceptionally busy”. Irish Residential Properties Reit, or Ires, owns almost 4,000 rental properties in the State across a portfolio valued at nearly €1.24 billion. Reit stands for “real estate investment trust”, a vehicle to allow individuals to invest in a portfolio of properties without purchasing whole properties themselves.The housing committee had sought to meet with the landlord in the wake of changes to the rental market introduced by the Government last year which took effect in March.However, in correspondence to the committee last week, the company said it was not in a position to attend as “June and July are exceptionally busy months for our senior management team in the lead-up to our interim results which are published in early August”.The company told the committee it also has “significant travel commitments in that period”. The company has been the subject of criticism in the Dáil recently, with Social Democrats housing spokesman Rory Hearne telling the house that renters from a number of its properties have been in touch saying the company is refusing permission to replace a tenant who leaves a flat-share situation.Hearne told the Dáil this had resulted in rents for remaining tenants increasing, including one instance where the rent rose from €1,000 per month to €2,000 per month.He claimed this was a “new practice by Ires Reit to take advantage of the Government’s new rental rules by getting around the no-fault eviction situation and it can let it out at full market rent”.Under the reformed rental rules, rents can be re-set between tenancies, but the grounds for a so-called “no-fault” eviction initiated by a landlord – especially larger landlords – have been significantly curtailed. [ How much can I earn tax free from a home in my garden?Opens in new window ]Hearne told The Irish Times it was “unacceptable” that Ires was refusing to come before the committee.“Institutional landlords are now a significant part of the private rental market and they have legal obligations under rental legislation. They also receive significant tax breaks via Reit taxes and public money via Hap payments to landlords. It is shocking that they are refusing to engage with the housing committee of the Oireachtas,” he said.Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin, also a member of the committee, said it was “deeply disappointing though not at all surprising that Ires have declined to attend the committee”. “It makes you wonder, what have they got to hide?”He said he would be asking the committee to issue Ires with an open invitation “to ensure that they come before us and answer questions on their current business model and its impact on renters”.Committee chairman Micheál Carrigy of Fine Gael said the rejection was not acceptable.“I can understand they’re busy, but we’re going to write back as a committee for them to come back with available dates that they have – we will be more than willing to try and accommodate them,” he said.“We feel it’s important we get an opportunity to discuss numerous issues of concern, and we want to do that at the earliest possible time and before the summer recess.”