Vol. 1035 No. 3
81. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the emergency measures he intends to introduce to increase and accelerate the supply of social and affordable housing in order to reduce rising levels of homelessness. [12086/23]
The Minister acknowledged that the ending of the emergency ban on evictions is likely to lead to an increase in homelessness from April. In the first half of last year 2,700 notices of eviction were issued and we expect that when we get the figures tomorrow and later this month for the second half of last year the total may be 5,000. Given that our emergency accommodation system is almost at breaking point, what is the Minister's contingency plan to deal with the rising level of presentations, both in terms of preventing people from becoming homeless and assisting people to exit from homelessness?
First, we used the pause and the time given through the eviction moratorium to ramp up additional supply. I will give the Deputy some specific figures and while they are approximations, they are close to the verified figures which we will have very soon. In quarter four of last year we delivered about 5,000 new social housing builds. We brought back about 1,500 voids in that period. We have acquired just short of approximately 600 homes, many of them with tenants in situ. We have leased a further 600 homes, particularly focused on those in homelessness or to provide exits for homeless people from emergency accommodation directly into permanent housing. In that period we have also ramped up the capacity in emergency accommodation, particularly in this region, with an additional 500 beds as well as 150 cold-weather beds.
It is important to note that the overall delivery last year, as the Deputy knows, comprised 29,851 homes, which was about 5,000 above the target. This represents a very good start for the first full year of Housing for All because we need to ramp up supply across all tenures. We have approved about 1,000 cost-rental tenancies also. More than 500 of those tenancies are in place, with people now living in safe, secure and affordable rental properties. In the first couple of months of this year, although these figures are provisional, we have built 1,800 new social homes. I will go through some other measures that we will be using to provide additional social homes in quarter 1 of this year, based on the Government decision on Tuesday, in my supplementary reply.
The Minister has his head buried deep in the sand. Last year, by his own admission, he missed his social housing targets by 1,500 units. He has underperformed on his target of 9,000. Interestingly, he has not told us anything about affordable housing. As we know, in his own constituency, the properties in Dun Emer have not yet been purchased and with both cost-rental and affordable purchase, he is way behind target but none of that answers the question.
In four weeks' time, because of a decision the Minister has made, hundreds if not thousands of notices to quit will fall due. There is a cliff edge in April. It will then extend to May and June. I am talking to people on the front line in homelessness services and they are telling me that there is no plan for April. My specific question is not what the Minister is going to do in six months or 12 months but what is going to happen in our local authorities and emergency front-line services when the hundreds if not thousands of single people, couples, families with children and pensioners present for emergency accommodation and there is none because of the absence of a contingency plan?
Just to remind the Deputy, his parliamentary question does not relate to this at all. The question he tabled makes no reference to what he has raised this morning but I am quite happy to answer because we made the right decision. It was a difficult decision but one that is in the best public interest in the medium term. That is what one has to do in government. One cannot just make populist decisions. One must make decisions that are right, even if they are difficult.
I have outlined very clearly the additional capacity and the additional builds that we provided in the fourth quarter of last year. Also, the Government decision of this week permits the ramping up and acceleration of purchases with tenants in situ, with another 1,500 homes for people in receipt of the housing assistance payment, HAP, or on the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, who have received notices to quit. There will be accelerated delivery in that space and should we reach that target of 1,500, more capital will be provided to do more.
On affordable housing, as the Deputy knows, we have more than 1,150 first home scheme, FHS, approvals. These are real people and real homes. FHS is a scheme that Deputy Ó Broin railed against and opposed. We have also approved more than 40 schemes across the country through the local authorities which will provide 2,100 affordable homes for people to purchase because we believe in home ownership.
What the Minister seems to believe in is taking decisions that increase the levels of homelessness across the State. He had a choice. He had a choice on Monday and Tuesday to protect tenants from the imminent threat of homelessness or to support landlords. He took the decision to support landlords. That is fine and that is his position but there has been no additional supply over the emergency ban on evictions period. In fact, the Minister missed the previously promised supply targets. Regarding the tenant in situ scheme, in my own local authority area, in the year since the scheme was opened, there have been three purchases. In the Dublin City Council area, the largest urban area in the country, there have been seven purchases. That is what we are getting because of the Minister's failure to act. With respect to the tenant in situ and cost-rental schemes, all the Minister needs to do is extend the cost-rental equity loan scheme to the approved housing bodies, AHBs, but he has failed to do so.
Again, I have a very simple question. In April, when an increasing number of men, women, children and pensioners present to our local authorities, where there is no emergency accommodation, what does the Minister advise them to do?
I have answered, very clearly, Deputy Ó Broin's question, albeit not the question he tabled, and am happy to answer it. We have a responsibility to make sure that we work towards a functioning private rental sector. The Deputy knows why the Government took this difficult-----
What does the Minister advise people to do in April?
Do not interrupt-----
It is a simple question. What does he advise people presenting to local authorities?
We have provided-----
There is no plan for April.
Can I be allowed to answer the question?
That is the question I am asking. What does the Minister advise those families to do? He has not answered that.
Deputy, you have already put your question.
What I am saying to Deputy Ó Broin----
Please allow the Minister to respond.
The Deputy may not want to listen to the answer but I have given him the answer, very clearly. We have ramped up significantly additional accommodation through social housing new builds of more than 5,000 in the last quarter of last year and over 1,800 in the first two months of this year. More than 600 homes have been purchased since July and-----
Then why is homelessness increasing?
For many reasons. It is not as simple as that and the Deputy knows it-----
What do those families do in April?
-----but it does not suit his narrative.
Deputy Ó Broin, there is a format for these questions.
What is the Minister's advice to those families in April?
We have made a responsible decision in the interests of the public.
The Minister has no answer.
Deputy Ó Broin, there is a format for this question and answer session and we do not get clarity with interruptions.
82. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to restrict no-fault evictions here; the number of units purchased by each local authority as part of the tenant in situ scheme in each county throughout the eviction moratorium; and if he is satisfied that data sharing arrangements with the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, are adequate for prioritising tenants facing no-fault eviction who are particularly vulnerable to homelessness, in the context of the scheme. [12189/23]
On the same theme, obviously the eviction ban has not been extended. The Minister mentioned in his response to Deputy Ó Broin's question that a number of units were coming on stream. What is the Minister doing now to restrict no-fault evictions? What is he doing to increase the number of tenant in situ purchases? Is he satisfied with the data sharing arrangements between the RTB and the local authorities?
I thank Deputy Smith for the question. As he knows, the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 was a time-limited enactment which provided for a stay on eviction notices up to 31 March 2023, with deferred tenancy terminations taking effect over a staggered period from 1 April to 18 June 2023.
In terms of the longer term, my Department has commenced a major review of the private rented sector to ensure that the sector is put on a sound footing, which provides certainty for both tenants and landlords, including in relation to tenancy terms. In relation to purchase of properties with tenancies in situ, I reinstated delegated sanction to local authorities in April 2022 to acquire social housing properties, including one-bedroom units; other properties that allow persons and families to exit homelessness; and specific housing required for individuals with a disability or other priority need. Limited acquisitions through the capital assistance scheme are also being approved for specific vulnerable cohorts, such as housing for older people, the homeless and people with a disability. While my Department does not hold data on the occupation status of properties acquired for social housing or on whether a HAP or RAS tenant was in situ at the time of purchase, we are collating that data. I said that during the last round of questions we had. We intend to publish the data when we have the final year figures. I can assure the Deputy that it is my intention to acquire up to 1,500 social homes this year. Those will be specifically targeted for purchase with tenants in situ, where the tenant is a HAP or a RAS tenant. The majority of these will be focused on landlords who are exiting the market. We need to ramp that up and expedite it. I met with every CEO and every director of service for housing in local authorities last week in Wexford, and this was reiterated to them. The resources for local authorities will be put firmly behind them to accelerate this programme. It is a good way of getting additional public housing stock in and, most importantly, making sure that those people who are already on our social housing list can stay in their homes and those homes revert to public ownership.
I have two follow-up questions. It was April 2022 when the Minister asked the local authorities to start the tenant in situ scheme. Why have the numbers been so low? Why are the local authorities not listening to the Minister? Why are they not acting on his instructions? Is it down to the scheme itself being too cumbersome, too bureaucratic, or is it down to resistance at a local authority level? I ask the Minister to tell me why they have not been listening to him. Second, there is no social or public housing unit that is going to be brought into stock that is going to be or should be a surprise to the Minister. There is a lead-in time for the acquisition or building of any stock. With all the analysis the Department has been doing, all the meetings the Minister has been having and everything that he knows, can he indicate what his projections are over April, May, June and July in terms of the homelessness figures and how they are going to project? The homelessness figure is 11,754 now - an all-time record. With the eviction ban ending, how high does the Minister think these numbers will go in the next three to four months in real terms?
On the last question the Deputy asked, and looking at the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE, data over the period of the eviction ban, homelessness stabilised. It did increase in some areas. The biggest single reason for that - about 25% of those presenting as homeless - was relationship breakdowns, and not due to other issues. The data are all published and are available.
Deputy Ó Broin might try to behave himself. I am answering Deputy Smith, who has put a very valid question here.
He is representing the figures.
What we are doing is that we have acquired about 600 properties from July. There was a target of 200 for 2022. As Deputy Smith knows from dealing with constituents in our area, once the council enters into those negotiations there is a conveyancing period to close the sale. Some local authorities have been using figures of closed sales only, ignoring the fact that there are others in process. That is the important thing. Knowing that the council will purchase the home gives the tenant the security. I will come back on his other questions in the supplementary.
We also know of applications for the tenant in situ scheme that have just been refused. They are not in conveyancing. To all intents and purposes, the application should fit the model. There may be a tenant who is on HAP who is going to be made homeless and in my experience, the application has hit the wall in a relatively quick period of time. That is not in conveyancing; it has just stopped. That is a person who will have to present to the homeless desk. What figures are the Minister is expecting when we reach the cliff edge? It is going to be a cliff edge, because the decision has been made. What figures is the Minister expecting? To what extent will these homeless figures increase in the coming two to three months? The Minister has to have an expectation as to what these numbers will be, given all the data that are out there that should be, and I imagine are, being channelled through the Minister's Department.
We do not have projections for the coming months, but if we look at when notices to quit are issued, they do not directly correlate into homelessness figures. The same number of notices to quit do not exactly match the numbers going into emergency homeless accommodation. There is movement within the market already. As I said earlier, we have a made a difficult decision, but it is the correct one in the medium term. We have lost thousands of tenancies from the private rental market in the last six or seven years. We need a functioning private rental sector also.
To answer the Deputy's question with regard to refusals, when the tenant is in situ there have been a number of refusals through it. We have gone back to the local authorities and we have given a very clear direction to them. There needs to be some discretion. In some instances, there can be a refusal because the property is a very poor state, but I have told the local authorities very clearly that they have to purchase properties when there is a tenant in situ who is a HAP or RAS tenant. We are bringing in other measures for private tenants as well. We will be ramping that up. The local authorities have the resources and the capital. I would like to exceed the target of 1,500. If we exceed 1,500, there will be further resources for further homes to be purchased as well.
83. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the promised building defects redress scheme and funding for interim measures and emergency works pending the opening of the full redress scheme. [12087/23]
I ask the Minister to give us an update on the progress with the redress scheme for homes with Celtic tiger-era defects. Specifically, can he give us an indication of when he hopes to bring forward the legislation to underpin the scheme? Also, possibly more urgently, can he tell us when interim funding for emergency works will be made available? As the Minister knows, since he has met homeowners recently in a number of developments, they are losing their insurance cover and urgently need that interim emergency funding.
I thank the Deputy for raising this most important issue. As he will know, I received Government approval on 18 January to draft legislation to establish supports for the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. I know the Deputy agrees that the legislation we need will provide a statutory basis for the establishment of a remediation scheme aimed at protecting the safety and welfare of those living in apartments or duplexes with such defects. It is a commitment I made in opposition, and one that I am happy to see through now. We have worked on this across the House.
I briefed stakeholders on the Government decision at a public webinar which was held on Monday, 27 February. More than 680 people registered to attend that webinar and I understand their desire for information as and when it becomes available and as we work through the process. I will continue to do that with them. A registration portal is being developed by the Housing Agency, which is at an advanced stage and which will serve as a knowledge base, allowing people to input information on their own specific developments. In order to ensure that important life-safety works are not paused, remediation works related to fire safety defects, entered into or commenced from 18 January 2023, will form part of the remediation scheme. I want to be very clear about that. Those costs will be covered. When I discussed it with residents at the webinar, it was an important step forward that they knew that any immediate works that needed to happen from a safety perspective will be covered in the overall costs. We are working on a hardship scheme, for want of a better phrase, for management companies that do not have the ability or the financial resources to do some of the initial remediation work. We are working through that as well, and I informed residents of that. Obviously, those works will need to be agreed with the local fire safety services. A code of practice in the context of the Fire Services Acts, to provide guidance to relevant professionals, including guidance on interim safety measures, is at an advanced stage of being developed.
I suppose the two specific questions I asked remain unanswered, so I will ask them again. Can the Minister tell us when he hopes to introduce the legislation? Even a ballpark figure in terms of the quarter would be helpful. Can he tell us when that hardship fund will be available for application? People need to know. With respect to retrospection, what certainty will the Minister be able to give to people if they are taking a decision to spend money now on remediation that it will be covered be retrospection? Also, can he clarify the position of AHBs and the small number of houses - not apartments and duplexes - particularly in multi-unit development schemes that also have defects but so far have not been included? As the Minister is aware, Millfield Manor in Newbridge is the most famous case where defects were in houses as well as, we suspect, in apartments and duplexes.
As the Deputy will know, the Government decision is focused directly on multi-unit developments, apartments and duplexes initially, because that is where the predominance of the issue is. We have to focus, first and foremost, on fire safety because that is public safety. I can say, and I am happy to say it on the record of the Dáil again, that retrospective costs that deal with the fundamentals of the scheme around fire safety, water ingress and structural issues will be covered.
They will not cover maintenance if an apartment block has not been maintained. That is understood to be fair by residents, the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners' Network. Moneys that have already been paid by residents to remediate their properties will be covered under this scheme. We are preparing the legislation and setting up an implementation group, which we did for the defective concrete blocks too, that will include residents, the Apartment Owners' Network and the Construction Defects Alliance. I want the legislation to pass this year but people should not stop the work they are doing or that they have contracted to do.
We are working through the detail of the hardship fund right now. We do not want to set up a fund in the absence of the full scheme but we need to be able to provide assistance to certain people or apartment blocks where they do not have access to funding to allow them to do some of the initial safety work, if not the full remediation. We want to get the scheme up and running.
The Minister knows we want to work with him on this, notwithstanding differences on detail or other matters. There is a genuine concern. We have seen with the enhanced redress scheme for defective blocks that the legislation was passed in the middle of last year but the scheme will effectively not be open for applicants until the middle of this year. Will we have the same kind of situation with respect to this? I am concerned about a January 2023 date for the start of retrospection. Many people who funded works prior to that will feel left out. Will the Minister clarify if that is the case? In multi-unit schemes where there are houses, they will be included because many also contribute to the owners' management company. Crucially, does the Minister have a notional date for the opening of that hardship scheme?
To be clear, based on the surveys and the work done by the working group, about 14% of properties have been remediated already. Where those remediation works fall under the objectives of the scheme relating to fire safety, water ingress and structural issues - to be very clear - those costs will be covered. It obviously has to be certified work carried out by professionals and certified on a fire safety basis. That has worked quite well. Those works will absolutely be covered.
Sorry for cutting across the Minister, but when will it be backdated to?
If the building is from between 1991 and 2013, it falls in the scheme. I have not set a backstop date as such. If the works were done before a certain date I want those to be included.
So anybody can apply.
We have seen a significant increase in applications to that scheme for defective concrete blocks. Anyone who applies now for stage 1 or stage 2 approvals will get the uplift of the new defective concrete blocks scheme.
It will not be open until the middle of this year.
We need to pass the legislation. Co-operation across the House on this has been very good. Having legislation in place is a priority because we need bespoke legislation. People should not pause the works that they are doing or contracting because they are now safe in the knowledge that those costs will be covered
What about houses in multi-unit schemes?
Our time for this question has elapsed. We will move to Question No. 84.
84. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will take action to ensure that corporate landlords are not using additional charges on top of rent to circumvent rent pressure zone regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12056/23]
There are clear data that the biggest driver of homelessness is people losing their tenancy in the private rental sector. When they get an eviction notice, that is a clear driver. What is the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, going to do about charges on top of rent that some companies are applying to renters as a way of circumventing rent regulation laws?
The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2022 regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented sector and set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board was established as an independent statutory body under the Acts to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.
Section 16 of the Act obliges a tenant to pay any charges or taxes in accordance with the lease or tenancy agreement unless they are unlawful or contravene any other enactment. In general, the question of whether or not a tenant has to pay charges to a landlord depends on the terms of the lease or tenancy agreement. The amount of such charges, if applicable, is a matter to be agreed between landlord and tenant. Contract law governs such arrangements. The specific terms associated with an individual tenant's rights and obligations are likely to be set out in a written contract signed by both the tenant and the landlord.
Comprehensive information on rent reviews and on general tenancy matters is available on the RTB's website, www.rtb.ie. Where there is a disagreement regarding charges payable under a lease or tenancy, the tenant or landlord may refer a dispute to the RTB for resolution. The fundamental point is that if a lease was in place between a tenant and a landlord and the lease is changed, the landlord cannot bring in additional charges on the basis of the previous lease.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. It is a pity that, generally, the senior Minister, Deputy O'Brien, does not answer my questions during priority and oral parliamentary questions, while he does so for other Opposition spokespeople.
Specifically on this issue, rents in Ireland are among the highest in Europe. Security for renters, especially after the Government's decision to remove the eviction ban, is among the lowest in Europe. Despite this, some corporate landlords are circumventing rent regulation laws by charging additional fees in addition to core rent. To give one example, Aparto, the student housing platform, which is owned by real estate giant Hines, is charging students as much as €65 a week for room costs on top of their rent. Given how high rents are, these extra charges are putting a huge burden on renters. What specifically is the Minister of State going to do about this? When he says they can refer matters to the RTB, he must be aware that the RTB is massively under-resourced and massively ineffective in dealing with complaints from tenants and landlords.
Section 16 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 obliges a tenant to pay any charges or taxes in accordance with the lease or tenancy agreement unless they are unlawful or contravene any other enactment. Typically, these may include electricity, gas or other utility charges. Will the Deputy provide the details of the specific case he raised to us? Typically, if a system has been in operation for leases and the terms of those leases are changed with additional charges, an issue should arise. I ask the Deputy to forward that particular issue to us. We will follow up with the RTB and actively look at it.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I will do that and have done so on foot of these parliamentary questions before, but I actually want the system to be fixed. The experience is poor in terms of saying to people to go to the RTB and that it might look into it. The RTB is under-resourced and is not able to deal with this. It does not have the capacity. We need the system to be fixed. Landlords are getting around the rent regulation rules by charging extra costs. Will the Minister of State bring in legislative measures to stop them doing that? Will he fix this?
A year ago, I asked the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, about tackling sex-for-rent exploitation. He gave a commitment this time last year that it would be dealt with within a few months. Nothing has been done. When will this Government act on that and on the commitments that it gave in oral parliamentary questions to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which have not been acted on?
On the first point the Deputy raised, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is not in the Chamber-----
Exactly.
-----but I will take up with the Minister the issue the Deputy has raised about sex-for-rent exploitation. On the particular matter the Deputy raised regarding student accommodation, send the issue into us. We will follow up on it and look at it in our Department and at the RTB. If changes need to be made, we will make them, but the RTB is the body charged with this. I take the Deputy's point about capacity issues. The most important thing is that he gives us the details and if something is happening in practice that is unlawful, we will follow up on that.
85. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the review of Part B of the building regulations. [12136/23]
It has been 16 years since the technical guidance documents underpinning Part B of our Building Control Regulations dealing with fire safety were drafted. I understand there is currently public consultation on this matter. In fact, our committee is hoping to hold a session on it after the consultation period closes. Will the Minister of State update us on the work of his Department and give a commitment that not only will the consultation conclude this year but that new technical guidance documents will be completed and published this year in the interests of fire safety for the users of buildings?
I thank Deputy Ó Broin.
On 20 January 2023, I launched a three-month public consultation on proposed amendments to Part B of the building regulations relating to fire safety. The proposed changes aim to improve fire safety in new buildings and support the reuse of existing buildings by simplifying, clarifying, and rationalising fire safety requirements. This public consultation is the culmination of a review of Part B of the building regulations and the associated technical guidance document B, which was necessitated by a number of issues, including changes in the design and construction of buildings and the use of new and innovative building systems and materials. The review also took common and emerging building trends into account. In carrying out the review, specific regard was given to the holistic requirements of the building regulations in Ireland as well as the framework of administration set out under the building control regulations. In addition, fire safety, planning, and Irish health and safety laws were considered along with Irish policy documents such as Housing for All and Fire Safety in Ireland: the Report of the Fire Safety Task Force 2018.
Fire safety regulations for dwelling houses were updated in 2017 and the current public consultation relates to fire safety requirements in all other buildings, which I have no doubt Deputy Ó Broin is aware of. Details of the public consultation can be found on my Department's website, and I encourage all interested parties to make a submission before the closing date of 21 April 2023. There is keen interest in the public consultation and we expect a large number of submissions. My Department will review the submissions and finalise the technical guidance and regulatory statements and regulations. The intention is to work towards having these finalised and published towards the end of the year. It may go into early next year but the intention is to have that done towards the latter end of the year at the earliest.
I thank the Minister of State. As he knows, these regulations are crucial to ensure fire safety and human safety in buildings, particularly in multi-unit buildings. The guidelines are 16 years old and the nature of building has changed comprehensively since then with buildings such as the children's hospital, apartments and nursing homes, etc. I am deeply concerned that of the 80 appeals on fire safety certificates that have gone to An Bord Pleanála in the past five years requiring, for example, sprinkler systems in multi-unit developments, nursing homes and commercial car parks, 90% of those were overturned by the board, resulting, in my view, in dramatically reduced fire safety. The problem is the 2006 regulations do not require sprinkler systems even though they are absolutely best practice. I am also concerned there will be a tug between the viability of buildings and the fire safety of buildings.
Will the Minister of State give an absolute commitment that fire safety and human safety will be the single overriding important factor in these regulations? Will he engage constructively with the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on this matter during the process?
The answer to both questions is "Yes". The most important thing here is to get this right. Deputy Ó Broin referred to the number of appeals. However, I point out that the An Bord Pleanála figures are of the order of approximately 15 to 25 appeals per year, and less than 1% of fire safety decisions are appealed. Generally, the level of appeals is low but I take the Deputy's point in terms of the overturning of decisions. The main thing at this point is to get it right. The key thing now is to get the submissions from the public consultation, which as I said is due to conclude on 21 April. The Minister and I are very keen to get the consultation under way. Once the submissions are made, the officials will work through them. We will certainly prioritise fire and health and, more particularly, engage with the committee on the matter.
