Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 37:

In page 19, before section 43, but in Part 4, to insert the following new section:

“PART 5*
COMPLAINT RELATING TO FAILURE TO PAY RENT PAYABLE UNDER THE TENANCY PENDING
DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE

43.—Section 75 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2) by inserting “76A,” after “76(4),”,
(b) in subsection (4)(d), by substituting “landlord,” for “landlord, and”, and
(c) in subsection (4) by inserting the following after paragraph (d):

“(da) in the case of a complaint mentioned in section 76A—

(i) the landlord, and
(ii) the tenant and, in the case of a sub-tenancy, the sub-tenant,and”.”.

The substantive amendments provide for the introduction of a new procedure which will enable the PRTB to deal effectively with tenants who do not pay rent during the dispute process. A dispute between a landlord and a tenant may be referred by either party to the PRTB for resolution under section 76 of the 2004 Act.

Under section 86 of the Act, rent continues to be payable pending the determination of the dispute and a termination of the tenancy may not be affected during the course of the dispute. However, the fact that a tenancy may not be terminated pending the determination of the dispute has led in practice to a small number of tenants withholding rent during the time their dispute is waiting to be dealt with by the PRTB. The landlord cannot evict the tenant during the dispute process and as such may not be paid any rent for considerable periods. This has led to hardship for some landlords who in many cases rely on rental payments to pay the mortgage on the dwelling. The purpose of these amendments is to provide for a new procedure to deal with tenants who do not comply with their statutory obligation to pay rent, pending the determination of their dispute. These amendments insert a new section 76A into the 2004 Act, which will provide that where there is a dispute before the board and the tenant does not pay the rent the landlord may bring a complaint before the PRTB. On the hearing of this complaint the PRTB can order the tenant to pay any rent due. The matter will then be adjourned for a period of no more than 14 days to allow the tenant to comply with this order. Where the tenant does not comply, the PRTB will now have the power to terminate the tenancy for breach of the statutory duty to pay rent, irrespective of whether a notice of termination has been served.

The PRTB do not have this power under the 2004 Act, as such. Even in cases in which a tenant has not paid rent for a number of months the PRTB do not have the power to terminate the tenancy unless the landlord has served a valid notice of termination. Where the notice of termination is invalid, the landlord has to reserve the notice and wait out the notice period before getting possession of the dwelling. If the tenant challenges the second notice, there is a further waiting period before the matter is finally resolved, with the landlord not receiving any rent during this time. In some cases this can result in a tenant remaining in situ for over a year without paying rent. While the PRTB endeavours to prioritise all cases where rent is not being paid, under the current law they have no power to terminate the tenancy regardless of the behaviour of the tenant. These new provisions will allow the PRTB to deal effectively and quickly with tenants who do not comply with their statutory obligation to pay rent during the dispute process.

Under this new procedure, a landlord may apply for relief only where a dispute has been referred-----