Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 July 2020
1. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the measures he plans to put in place to address the rent arrears debt burden arising from tenants falling behind in their rent due to Covid-19 temporary lay-offs. [17908/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Minister will be aware, a significant number of renters have lost income or jobs as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. We are all concerned about the impact of what we are calling the rent arrears debt burden on both tenants and the rental sector overall.
Will the Minister outline if he has received the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, research report his Department commissioned on this issue and outline what his plans are to deal with this rent arrears burden?
I thank Deputy Ó Broin for raising this important issue. It is important we understand that we deal with any issues that relate to residual debt, particularly, with renters, due to losing jobs or income because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the Deputy will be aware, tenants are required to pay rent to their landlord during the Covid-19 emergency period and in the event of tenants having difficulty doing so, they are encouraged to engage with landlords at the earliest opportunity. My Department recently published a guidance document on Covid-19 support for both tenants and landlords that sets out emergency rental measures, income and other supports available to tenants and landlords during this emergency period. That document is available on the Residential Tenancies Board's website and it is also a frequently asked question so it is pretty handy. It is prominent on that site to help people.
Regarding the ESRI report, as the Deputy will be aware, my Department operated a programme of collaborative research principally focused on housing economics. Under this programme, researchers from the institute and my Department prepared a research paper exploring the short-run implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the private rental market. The research paper is focused on rental payment affordability and the potential incidents of arrears during the first three months of the pandemic among non-supported private market renting households, that is, among renting households that did not receive any housing subsidies. Changes in consumption patterns arising from public health measures are also considered in the paper. I am glad to say the preliminary research findings do not identify a significant rent arrears problem emerging during the first three months of the pandemic. I do not have that report yet, but I have been in contact with the ESRI and expect to receive it in the coming days. Once I receive it, I intend to share and publish it because it will be important that we work on it together as an Oireachtas.
I thank the Minister for his response. Sinn Féin conducted an online survey of renters recently and more than 1,000 renters replied with a good geographical, age and income spread. While the survey does not claim to be scientifically representative, it gives us an insight. Some 60% of respondents said they had lost income due to Covid-19 and a significant number, almost 70%, believed they would have rent arrears of up to €3,000 after the first three months. A further 13% expected the rent arrears to go up as much as €5,000.
We would not have expected significant rent arrears in the first month because people would have paid their month's rent in advance and possibly even in the second month. However, given that a disproportionate number of those who are on the pandemic unemployment benefit, PUP, are young renters in sectors of the economy that are not going to recover fully, certainly, until the very end of this year, will the Minister give a commitment to work with the Opposition and landlords' and tenants' representative organisations to put together a proper pathway to deal with what could be a significant level of rent arrears on the other side of Covid-19?
This is going to be an issue and we must base our response on the scientific research. The Deputy mentioned Sinn Féin has carried out research. I am carrying out research through the ESRI and the initial response from that is there has not been a massive increase. However, I take the point it is in the first three months and we have got to watch that.
Measures like the PUP and temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS, have helped and many of our renters are in the hospitality sector and sectors that have been badly hit by the pandemic. I use this opportunity to remind people we also have the emergency rent supplement payment and only 7,000 applicants have applied for it. That is a concern and I have raised it on a regular basis in every media interview I have done to get that support out there. People should not fall into rent arrears due to losing their job or their wages being reduced due the pandemic. Once the report is published, I will share it and I am happy to discuss it with all Members of the Dáil.
I thank the Minister for his constructive reply and I absolutely share his concern about the low level of uptake of the rent supplement. That is because the previous and current Ministers with responsibility for social protection and the Department are not doing enough to promote that payment. I echo the Minister's call for people to avail of it. If one looks at the latest figures from the Department on rent supplements, the average rent supplement payment currently for those 7,000 applicants is €670 per month. In Dublin, it is only €783 per month, and given that average rents in Dublin now are €1,700 per month, that shows that even if one is getting the rent supplement, and it is a good support, there is still the very real possibility of significant arrears.
I also urge the Minister to not only engage with us, but to actively consider the possibility of including partial or full write-downs of arrears as part of an overall package, including interest-free payment holidays for landlords on their mortgages as well as the rent supplement. This will ensure the burden of those rent arrears is not left solely at the door of renters but is fairly shared across all concerned.
Any response will be based on fact and on the research we have done. I will be open to looking at all options once I have that information to hand. I would say to Members that we need to look at further protection of tenants' rights on a permanent basis as well. That is why in the next couple of days I intend to bring to Cabinet a new residential tenancies (amendment) Bill which I will have in the Oireachtas next week. There are some permanent measures to strengthen rights for tenants, but it will also look at the area, particularly, around rent arrears and how we can flag them sooner and provide assistance to tenants, so we do not build up a large amount of rent arrears. I look forward to bringing that Bill to the House next week and to constructive engagement with those in the Opposition on it. I will act once I have the data and research, based on the facts the ESRI bring to me in the coming days.
