Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bills. There are some issues on which we would not to be in agreement, particularly regarding the Anti-Evictions Bill, but by and large most of the recommendations are very solid. We talk about rent pressure zones and normalise this idea that there can be a 4% rise every two years. That has been the wrong road. People say it is working in some areas. We would have been better off linking it to the consumer price index, CPI, as Deputy Jan O'Sullivan has said. We are effectively saying to landlords that every two years, they can get an increase of 4% and it does not matter about inflation or the cost of living. We have been locked into this by the Government and it is a mistake. We should be pushing the idea of linking it to the CPI. The problem with the rent pressure zones is putting them across the whole country. That is why I do not think they are fit for purpose.

It has been said that we cannot gauge how many people are being evicted for the sale of houses. I hear about it quite a lot in my office. It is quite big and that is what is so worrying. People are being told the landlord is going to sell the place. The big issue is the intention to sell. We then discover on occasions that it is not the case but that the house is being refurbished and re-let. The sanctions from the RTB do not seem to be fit for purpose in terms of dealing with that. It is a major issue. It is a good idea to try to get a definition of a family member because it is quite often used. We need to look at that. The issue of having a proper register is also very important. On the refurbishment of properties, I have heard it used a few times and we do get it every now and again. I do not think there is always a necessity to move the tenant out. Some of these things can be worked around or at least an alternative could be put forward by the landlords if they are going to do it. We have to look at that.

We are also seeing people on the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, being forced to go to the housing assistance payment, HAP. This is causing a major problem and adding to the homelessness situation. People are finding themselves not able to do this although it is common that they are getting letters and being told they have to. They are coming into my office panicking like mad and some of them are ending up homeless as a result of all this. We are talking about people losing their home. These letters are adding to the problem.

The issue of the students' rights is very important. Most of them seem to be on licences and we need to tie the RTB into that more. It is an extremely important area. Another issue is eviction. I do not think anyone would tell a landlord he or she cannot evict someone over anti-social behaviour or very serious arrears. We all accept that people cannot just plop themselves down and expect to get away with it. However, in the past, the money was paid directly to the tenants. That was a big mistake. It still happens. It should be going to the landlord, the receiver or the bank. We need to be careful how we do this. I have seen people get money and go off and spend it, and they end up in massive arrears. It is a common thing.

By and large, there are many good things in both Bills and we will debate their merits. Deputy Barry has raised some issues with which we all have some problem in terms of how we deal with them and we will discuss those matters in due course.