Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 1 Jun 2000

Vol. 520 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Private Rented Accommodation.

Ms Fitzgerald

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important issue. I call on the Government to take urgent action to alleviate the severe crisis in the rented accommodation sector in Dublin. Radical measures are needed if a chronic homelessness, involving scores of people, is to be avoided.

The number of people facing eviction and being forced to leave their private rented accommodation in areas of my constituency such as Rathmines, Ranelagh, Rathgar, Donnybrook, Ballsbridge and so on is staggering. There are many reasons for this and the overall housing crisis exacerbates the position for those in private rented accommodation. Financial incentives that existed before for private landlords to invest are now gone. Many multiple dwelling units were being converted back into private homes. There is obviously enormous strain on this sector from the 8,000 asylum seekers in private rented accommodation in the Dublin area.

Most Dublin Deputies could give one example after another of problems in this regard. I cannot emphasise enough the appalling position faced by families and individuals. Yesterday I spoke to a mother of three who faces eviction in mid-August from the flat she and her family have lived in for 11 years. The family has zero points on the corporation's housing list. Apart from having nowhere to live at present, the family faces all the stress of changing schools with all the associated trauma.

Another example is that of a retired man aged 72 and his wife in her 60s who last week faced eviction from their home of 18 years because they would have security of tenure if they lived there a year longer. I also met another lady, aged 69, who was recently forced to move out of private accommodation she had been in for some time into a bed and breakfast. She died within a short time and no doubt the mental strain associated with the move contributed to her death. Many of these cases closely resembled the Mespil flats case some years ago. This is on a much greater scale but the problems are the same.

These example show how the rented accommodation sector in Dublin is in crisis. Those in rented accommodation face an appalling scenario for which there appear to be very few practical solutions. We have very little activity in the area of co-operative or voluntary housing schemes compared to other cities and that is a real problem. It will have to change. There will have to be more activity and it will have to be Government-led. I call on the Minister to outline the immediate action the Government intends to take to relieve this situation.

Threshold has stated that the number of elderly people contacting it to find out their rights regarding leases is on the rise and one of their workers has stated that more and more landlords are taking the law into their own hands, changing locks and dumping people's belongings in the street. The Simon Community has also commented on the effect of this crisis on the elderly, though young families as well as single people young and old are also being affected. A new group of homeless people is being created. It is important the findings of the new commission on the private rented sector are published as soon as possible and that we have a series of recommendations to deal with this crisis.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

The Minister of State with responsibility for housing and urban renewal is unable to be in the House to address this matter and he asked me to do so on his behalf. I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and providing me with the opportunity to outline the Government's activities in the area.

The Government is fully committed to addressing the country's housing needs deficit. Our priority is to facilitate the provision of appropriate housing, whether that be owner occupied, private rented or local authority, to meet growing needs and demand. Our commitment is reflected by the inclusion, for the very first time, of housing in the national development plan. Measures are being taken to increase housing supply and restore stability in all housing sectors, including the private rented sector. Over the last decade, successive Governments have taken actions to assist in the development of a thriving, diverse and well managed private rented residential sector, in a fashion that balances the rights of both landlords and tenants.

The rights of tenants in private rented accommodation and the protection available to them are determined by the lease or other tenancy agreement under which the tenancies are held and the landlord and tenant code which governs the relationship between landlord and tenant. That code is, of course, the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Notwithstanding that, my Department has taken a number of steps to provide a legal framework for the sector. These include a minimum period of notice to quit of four weeks, a removal of the right of seizure of a tenant's goods for non-payment of rent, regulations requiring landlords to provide rent books and ensure their dwellings comply with certain minimum physical standards were introduced and a requirement for landlords to register their accommodation with the local authority was put in place.

The most recent information indicates that in 1999 some 25,900 properties nationally were registered by 15,198 landlords. In Dublin alone 4,610 landlords registered their properties, which represents an increase of 16.5% in the number of landlords registered in Dublin during 1998. While these figures indicate that the local authorities, which are responsible for the enforcement of the regulations, are making some progress, they still have much to do before I will be happy that the regulations are being implemented satisfactorily.

The introduction of a number of new initiatives will further improve the situation. For example, in 1999, over £100 million was paid in rent support, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme in respect of some 41,000 tenants in the private rented sector. Provision has now been made in the Social Welfare Act, 2000, to allow for the provision of information to local authorities in respect of these tenancies. As a result, local authorities will be in a position to identify landlords benefiting from rent support payments who have failed to register. Such landlords may then be inspected with regard to compliance with the various housing regulations.

In addition, in January new regulations were introduced to remove the exemption from the requirement to register which had applied to lettings of temporary convenience. These new regu lations will eliminate the legal difficulties arising from the High Court judgment concerning an action taken by a local authority against a number of landlords who had failed to register their properties and which make enforcement more difficult for authorities.

Our aim is to develop a thriving, diverse and well managed private rented sector. With that in mind, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and urban renewal established the Commission on the Private Rented Residential Sector last July to examine and make recommendations on a wide range of issues relating to the sector, including improved security of tenure, maintaining a fair and reasonable balance between the respective rights and obligations of landlords and tenants, and increasing investment in and the supply of accommodation in the sector.

The commission had been requested to report to the Minister by 1 June 2000. However, its chairman recently requested that an additional month be provided and the Minister has acceded to this request. While not wishing to pre-empt what the report might contain, I anticipate that the recommendations will relate to changes required to the legislative and regulatory frameworks with a view to achieving better enforcement of an agreed framework and to removing certain legal difficulties that currently exist, and improved dispute resolution mechanisms. The latter includes measures to improve security of tenure, provide greater awareness of mutual rights and obligations and to amend notice to quit periods to reflect length of tenancies, as well as measures to promote the development of the sector and, in particular, to facilitate increased supply of accommodation with a view to meeting longer term housing needs.