Mr. Owen Duggan:

My biggest concern, if that were allowed to happen, is that it would incentivise landlords to evict tenants and start new tenancies. The amendments in June 2019 brought in various different requirements in regard to renovations. In the two or three years prior to those amendments being introduced, many tenants were being evicted for renovations that were, in my experience, on many occasions nothing more than cosmetic updates to the property. Since those amendments in 2019, evictions for renovations have fallen off a cliff. To have that as one of the six reasons to evict a tenant does not come into play anymore for Threshold advisers and the tenants we assist. I do not think it is too far of a stretch to say that if landlords are allowed to reset the rent when a new tenancy begins, that incentivises them to end the old tenancy, which would be very concerning.