Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
353. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Residential Tenancies Board has a role to play in helping students and their families attempting to receive refunds from student accommodation providers for the unused months of lockdown; the avenues available to students and parents in such a situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23987/20]
View answerThe 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. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 extended the remit of the RTB to cover student licences and tenancies in student-specific accommodation. Due to the quasi-judicial nature of work of the RTB, it would be inappropriate for me, as Minister, or my Department to comment on or intervene in the specifics of any individual case.
The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2020 provide for minimum notice periods to be served by tenants and landlords for tenancy terminations – for example, a student must provide 28 days' notice to end a tenancy of less than 6 months duration or 35 days to end a tenancy of more than 6 months but less than 1 year.
The Acts do not prescribe specific terms and conditions regarding the payment of rents or deposits for inclusion in individual letting agreements in the private rental market including the student-specific accommodation sector. Contract law governs such arrangements.
The specific terms associated with an individual student’s rights and obligations are likely to be set out in a written contract signed by both the student and the landlord. Engagement between the parties to clarify the respective contractual obligations of the student and the landlord is key in establishing whether a breach of contract had occurred.
Students may wish to contact their third level education providers to seek any assistance that they might be in a position to provide. If a student cannot come to an agreement with their accommodation provider, they might wish to contact the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) regarding their concerns – https://www.rtb.ie/ - or to refer a dispute for resolution with regard to the non-refund of their deposit.
I understand that the Department of Education and Skills is working with representatives from the higher education sector to address the challenges faced by students during this difficult time. The Department of Education of Skills understands, based on the information available to it, that the majority of students in university-owned accommodation have received pro-rata refunds on foot of vacating their accommodation.
While I would wish to see this principle applied in the case of students who were residing in privately owned student accommodation, it is not within the remit of the Department of Education and Skills nor of my Department to direct any accommodation provider to refund rents paid.
