Ms Ann-Marie O'Reilly:

Regarding the rent certainty measures, working on the front line I see a broad range of experiences from families coming in from the private rental sector. We welcome many of the measures introduced, which were very positive, but they were too late. By the time the amendments came in in 2015, rents were almost at the 2007 peak. By the time the increases came in in June 2016, they had surpassed the peaks we had in the boom. Unfortunately, they were just a little bit too late for those who had already entered homelessness. That resulted in huge mistrust among people in the homeless sector and huge anxiety about re-entering the private rental sector. There are no guarantees for tenants in private rented housing even with all the changes and that is because it is in a market.

I often meet families who ask me if they will be back in a hotel room in two or three years' time. I tell them about the changes and make sure they know about the legislation that was introduced and what protections are available to them. They often point out that they did everything right the previous time. They point out that the landlord could evict them if he wants to sell the house. I cannot lie to them. I point out that is a possibility, but if it happens they should contact the council or Focus Ireland to get help with that. Ultimately there are no guarantees. We will probably not see the outcome of the two-year freeze on the rent until this time next year. It has been said that many landlords front-loaded when that was about to come in.

The rental measures do not address discrimination in the market.

That is something I would see from working at the front line with families, particularly one-parent families, namely, they are generally more discriminated against. Again, that is anecdotal and I do not know if there is anything out there to show it is the case. It is already hard to go to a viewing for a homeless person, for someone on a social welfare payment or for someone on a lower income, and there are certainly many families who are in some type of employment. However, those arriving as a one-parent family know they are at the end of the list and that the landlords will look at others before looking at them. Unfortunately, the measures do not address the discrimination that exists in the market.

Many of the people we work with are not aware of these changes, what they really mean for them on the ground or what they can do about them. There is an imbalance of power in a landlord-tenant relationship, no matter what one's income or background, and that imbalance is not just among people on low incomes or of lower education. Therefore, to assert their rights and to know what they can do about it can be very difficult. Threshold is available and is one of he mainstays in providing that type of service. The RTB is at the next level but many people will not go that far because they are just keen to find something and move on. Maybe they will go back to family or friends in the hope that they will get back into the rental market but, because the rental market has become very tight, unfortunately, that often does not pan out and they find themselves in homelessness. While the changes were very welcome and positive, perhaps they are a little too late. As Mr. Allen said, they were perhaps not done in a timely fashion along with many of the other measures.