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Housing Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Questions (287, 288)

Richard Bruton

Question:

287. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the planned duration of restrictions on eviction notices under the special Covid-19 rules; and if he is considering any further extension of these protections. [47547/21]

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Richard Bruton

Question:

288. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he plans to legislate for new protections for tenants; the target date it is hoped that they will come into effect; and the provisions planned. [47548/21]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 287 and 288 together.

The Residential Tenancies Act 2020 was enacted and came into operation on 24 October 2020 to temporarily modify the operation of the Residential Tenancies Acts to prevent any notices of termination served by landlords, in all but limited cases, from taking effect in geographical locations and during periods specified by the Minister for Health in Regulations made by him under section 31A of the Health Act 1947 in respect of which a restriction applies on the movement of people outside a 5 km radius of their place of residence to help protect the population from the spread of Covid-19. These tenancy protections also apply during the 10 days directly following the period specified by the Minister for Health in the aforementioned Regulations. The most recent tenancy protections that applied on foot of a 5km travel restriction covered the period from 31 December 2020 to 22 April 2021. If the Minister for Health makes regulations restricting movement outside a 5 km radius of one's place of residence in the future, the moratorium on evictions taking effect will automatically apply in the relevant area during the relevant period.

The Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 introduced permanent protections to provide new procedures to be followed in the context of rent arrears warnings and associated tenancy terminations.

Any notice of termination grounded on rent arrears must be copied to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and will be invalid if it is not so copied. A notice of termination grounded on rent arrears can only be served by a landlord on the condition that a written rent arrears warning was given to both the tenant and the RTB and that the arrears were not paid within 28 days (doubled from 14 days since 1 August 2020) following receipt of the warning by the tenant or by the RTB, whichever occurs later.

Where a tenancy is to be terminated on grounds of rent arrears on foot of Covid-19, enhanced protections and procedures apply for tenants and landlords under Part 3 (Residential Tenancies) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 (the PDRTA). The PDRTA provides for temporary modifications to the operation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide, subject to certain conditions, that during the period from 11 January 2021 to 12 January 2022 a 90 day (rather than the usual 28 days) termination notice period applies, where a tenant is in rent arrears due to Covid-19 and is at risk of losing their tenancy. The earliest termination date allowed in such circumstances is 13 January 2022. Rent increases are also prohibited for relevant tenancies until 13 January 2022.

The targeted ban on rent increases under the PDRTA is due to expire on 12 January 2022. The Government will consider in due course what measures, if any, are required after this date to support tenants in financial difficulty due to Covid-19. The operation of the rental market and the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2021 are kept under constant review and any necessary legislation will be introduced.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) displays comprehensive information on its website - www.rtb.ie - including guidance and frequently asked questions documents relating to rent reviews and terminating tenancies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A number of targeted measures and initiatives are currently being developed to provide better security of tenure and greater rent certainty for tenants, as well as enhancing the supports and services available to both tenants and landlords through the RTB particularly, to facilitate the development of a more vibrant and sustainable rental sector. Inter alia, these initiatives include:

- the recent extension of Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) protections to the end of 2024 and the prohibition on rent increases exceeding any general inflation, as recorded by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which will be re-examined in the light of prevailing inflation rate;

- the bringing forward of legislation to address long- term security of tenure including by providing for tenancies of indefinite duration, subject to legal advice;

- to enhance tenancy protections for those living in dwellings that are affected by a receivership situation;

- amending the Residential Tenancies Acts to provide for default conciliation as the first step in the RTB’s dispute resolution process;

- increasing enforcement of registration of tenancies by RTB;

- the development and publication of a standard tenancy agreement by the RTB; and

- reviewing the recommendations of the Working Group on the Tax and Fiscal Treatment of Landlords, which was chaired by the Department of Finance.

The necessary legislative change will be progressed through the Housing and Residential Tenancies Bill 2021, which I intend to bring forward before the end of this Dáil term with a view to early commencement.

The Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021 introduced measures in July 2021 to better protect tenants with affordability challenges by extending the operation of RPZs until the end of 2024 and prohibiting any necessary rent increase in a RPZ from exceeding general inflation, as recorded by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). This measure significantly reduced the level of permissible rent increases for the estimated 74% of all tenancies which are in RPZs. The linkage with HICP aims to safeguard continued investment in the sector by existing and new landlords to deliver the much needed supply of high-quality rental accommodation while protecting against a significant increase in rental inflation in the coming years.

When introducing these measures, I was very clear on the need to carefully monitor inflation. At that time, HICP inflation averaged 0.73% p.a. over the previous 3 years but had risen to 1.6% p.a. in the year ending June 2021. I needed to revise the RPZ rent control relatively quickly in July, on a basis that could be independently verified. The Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021 also provides that an index, other than HICP, may be prescribed for the purposes of restricting rent increases in RPZs. Given the continuing rise in HICP inflation, up to 3% p.a. in August, I will consider all the legal options available to me to ensure that effective rent controls are legally in force in RPZs to cap the rate of any rent increase where the general inflation rate is too high. Any necessary provision relating to rent control in RPZs will be considered in the context of the impending Housing and Residential Tenancies Bill 2021. My Department is currently examining this matter and the advices of the Office of the Attorney General will inform any changes in this area.

Question No. 288 answered with Question No. 287.
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