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Rental Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022

Wednesday, 19 January 2022

Questions (567)

Eoin Ó Broin

Question:

567. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he intends to enact the deposit retention scheme passed into law in 2015. [1990/22]

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Written answers

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provided for, among other things, the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme to be operated by the Residential Tenancies Board. However, there have been significant changes in the rental market since the 2015 scheme was first envisaged and designed. For example, the 2015 scheme was intended to be financed by the interest payable on deposits lodged; this is no longer viable, given the current financial market conditions.

The Programme for Government and Housing for All – a new Housing Plan for Ireland includes an action to examine the creation of a system of holding rental deposits, informed by international experience, by Q2 2023 and my Department is currently considering how best to achieve this.

Section 7 of the Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021 inserts a new section 19B into the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 which applies to tenancies created on or after 9 August 2021, to restrict the total amount that a tenant is required to pay to a landlord by way of a deposit or an advance rent payment to secure a tenancy to no more than the equivalent of 2 months’ rent (i.e. any deposit cannot exceed 1 month’s rent and any advance rent payment cannot exceed 1 month’s rent). A restriction of the equivalent of 1 month’s rent is also placed on the amount that a tenant is obliged to pay as a regular advance rent payment to a landlord during a tenancy. These measures are intended to greatly reduce any financial exposure to tenants, on foot of paying such restricted upfront payments.

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