Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 5 December 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government
General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion
Mr. Maurice Deverell:
It is the word "bequeathed". If the property is bequeathed and the old person actually dies in the nursing home, then it does not have to go through this process. However, if the old person is still alive in the nursing home, it does have to go through the process. I do not know how it could be written around, so to speak. It was one thing that struck me. When a person is old and in a nursing home, it seems a little bit mean.
There is a lot in this that says landlords "shall" and tenants "are obliged". That seems a little bit unfair because there are two parties to a contract where both sides are obliged and should follow the rule of law. It should not just be an obligation, we should actually do it.
The issue of unintended consequences came up earlier.