Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 March 2022
112. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase protections for tenants by preventing those landlords in receipt of Government retrofitting grants from ending tenancies for related works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12314/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is already a serious problem with tenants being evicted due to renovations, and grants for retrofitting should not lead to tenants being evicted or rent increases. The retrofitting scheme is very welcome, but public money should not incentivise evictions or rent increases. What measures specifically will be introduced to prevent this happening and will there be changes to the legislation governing the sector to prevent this?
The current protections for tenants where a landlord terminates a tenancy because he or she needs vacant possession to substantially refurbish or renovate the rented property are sufficiently robust. The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2021 provide that where a landlord terminates a tenancy because he or she needs vacant possession to substantially refurbish or renovate the rented property, that property must be offered back to the former tenant upon completion of such works, where the tenant provides contact details for such an offer to be made. Such a notice of termination must contain or be accompanied by a written certificate of a registered professional under the Building Control Act 2007, such as an architect or surveyor, stating that the proposed substantial refurbishment or renovation works would pose a health and safety risk necessitating vacation by the tenants and that such a risk would be likely to exist for at least three weeks.
The tenancy protections in place are not impacted by the funding stream used by landlords for such works. A tenant may refer a dispute with regard to the validity of a notice of termination of a tenancy to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, for resolution. Since 2019, the Residential Tenancies Acts provide enhanced powers for the RTB to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in improper conduct, including non-compliance with the tenancy termination provisions. A sanction imposed can comprise a written caution, a financial penalty of up to €15,000 and RTB investigation costs up to €15,000. The operation of the rental market and the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2021 are kept under constant review and any necessary legislation will be introduced.
I thank the Minister of State for the reply, but all the information he provided is available, almost word for word, on the RTB website. This is a problem and this public money could be used to incentivise evictions and rent increases. Under current rules, there is an onus on the tenant to make a complaint. Tenants often are not offered their tenancies back in such circumstances. Will a change in legislation be introduced to protect tenants and stop this from happening, ensuring that a tenancy will continue unless a tenant chooses otherwise? A tenancy should continue rather than end and be offered back to the tenant. Will that change be introduced so that rents cannot be increased if a landlord is in receipt of public funds for renovations? It is reasonable that if public money is being used, it should not lead to an eviction or rent increase. What will the Government do to address this?
On the specific question of rent increases, since 2019 there have been exemptions around rent pressure zones for certain types of works. These might include a tenancy not existing in respect of the dwelling in the two years immediately prior to the current tenancy beginning. Such works might include a permanent alteration to the internal layout, adapting it for a person with a disability, a permanent increase in the number of rooms or improvement of the building energy rating of up to seven points.
There are robust mechanisms already in place and the vast majority of retrofitting works taking place in rental properties, such as installing attic insulation, pumping insulation into walls, etc., will be non-invasive. In some cases, deep retrofits would not ordinarily require an occupier to leave the property. The protections are there. If there are specific examples that the Deputy has in his area, please provide them to us because we would like to look into them further.
I am bringing up a matter of specific evictions. The Minister acknowledged before that there have been evictions arising from renovations and it has been a problem. He acknowledged it here in the Chamber while I was present. I am seeking to find out what the Government is looking to do to protect tenants in such a position. Saying the current provisions will not be changed is not good enough. We should not have any position where public money could be used to incentivise evictions.
The chairman of the RTB, Mr. Tom Dunne, told the Committee of Public Accounts recently that landlords may use the retrofitting scheme to evict tenants and he is an independent voice on this so his opinion should be highly valued. What will we do now before public money is used to incentivise rent increases or evictions? What changes will be introduced to address the matter before that happens?
The Deputy mentioned the information available on the RTB website. It is quite clear that if vacant possession is sought for substantial works to the property, that property must be offered back to the tenant.
Often, it is not offered back.
Again, I would appreciate it if the Deputy could provide examples to us as the property must be offered back. As we referenced, there are penalties in place if that is not the case. I referenced separately the point relating to substantial works around rent pressure zone areas. It is important to provide specific examples because it would be really useful from our perspective to see what they are and where those cases exist. The legislation is quite clear in protecting tenants in this regard. These works will be really important. They are not just for meeting our national retrofitting targets and they will also provide cheaper home energy bills for tenants. Everybody will benefit.
