Ms Ann-Marie O'Reilly:

Of the notices of termination with which we assisted tenants last year, just over one third were issued on the grounds that the landlord intended to sell. The next most common reason was that the landlord or a family member required the property. That accounted for 17% of the notices tenants brought to our attention last year. There is an element of having to take the landlord's word for it that there is a family member moving in and that there is a genuine need. Some 70% of landlords own between one and three properties and they may have very well intended for a family member to move in down the line or in years to come. A Bill was brought forward last year to limit which family members a landlord could use as grounds for eviction. It is difficult and it is a tricky issue to tackle because of the nature of the rented sector we have in Ireland, where so many landlords are just once-off landlords. While they have bought some property they may not really see themselves as housing providers. In a way, HAP has turned people into housing providers who never intended to be. Unfortunately, it is not a question to which there is any easy answer.