Private Rented Accommodation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 June 2020

Wednesday, 3 June 2020

Questions (1190)

Bríd Smith

Question:

1190. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 1342 of 20 May 2020, if he will clarify the role and function of the RTB in enforcing the emergency legislation that sought to provide protection for all tenants from eviction during the period of the Covid-19 crisis; and the reason the RTB is refusing to support tenants facing evictions or the withholdings of deposits during the Covid-19 crisis due to the fact their tenancies are not covered by the 2004 Act, when such evictions are in clear breach of the emergency legislation which a previous response made clear extended to all tenancies even those not covered by the 2004 Act. [8731/20]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Deputy Eoghan Murphy)

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. Section 3 of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 - 2019 provides that those Acts apply to every dwelling the subject of a tenancy, subject to certain exemptions which include situations where the landlord also resides in the building or part of the building concerned. Section 37 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 extends the application of the Residential Tenancies Acts, with necessary modification, to certain licences in student-specific accommodation. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020, while containing new temporary measures and amendments to the 2004 Act, did not alter or amend the functions of the RTB.