Ms Janette Fogarty:

As Ms Carroll stated, it is about examining the legalities of a licence agreement. What the courts will examine is substance over form. The legislation was brought forward to create tenancies, and people have certain rights within those tenancies. If, for instance, a licence is created to circumvent the creation of a tenancy, it is in fact a tenancy. The Residential Tenancies Board has the power to look behind the agreement to determine if it is a tenancy and to test the reasons the licence was created. As Ms Carroll said, we have not seen many cases tested and we believe it is an area open to interpretation. When we went before the courts, they examined the typical type of licence agreement that included certain aspects such as tenants not having exclusive occupation of the dwelling and questioned the reason for that. One is trying to circumvent the legislation so therefore, in essence, it is a tenancy. It is on that basis we would examine it. That is where our powers lie, and we would encourage people to take cases regarding that.

On the rent pressure zones the Deputy mentioned, once the case has been considered, and the RTB looks at the jurisdiction element, as Ms Carroll mentioned, they can investigate where the person is paying rent over and above that outlined in the rent pressure zone measure. There are powers in legislation for our panel members - our decision makers - to seek to have the rent paid back, and we have seen cases where that has been done. If people believe their rights or obligations are affected, they need to bring cases to the Residential Tenancies Board to ensure they are protected.