Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak on our amendments, amendments Nos. 1 and 2 to Seanad amendment No. 51. They concern the statutory declaration, which is a critical issue for tenants. The commonest reason for people becoming homeless - the people with whom I speak - is not rent increases because landlords know that it is more difficult to evict somebody on the basis of a rent increase now. In many cases, landlords are using other legal means to rid of tenants so that they can jack up the rent when tenants are gone. There are legitimate reasons why somebody might need to have a property vacated but landlords are citing reasons like a family member having to move in. One woman was told recently that her landlord's mother was terminally ill and needed a place to go. I have heard all sorts of reasons as to why the tenant must move out and the landlord needs to have the property vacated. In all those cases, people have seen the property re-let at a later stage with the increase in rent effected because it is not possible to get the rent up to a level one wants to see, particularly for somebody on rent allowance. This is what landlords are doing.

We welcome anything that would strengthen the hand of tenants but a statutory declaration will only go so far. In addition, we want proof from the landlord that they have made inquiries and have had some communication with a prospective buyer or estate agent or have some evidence that were the property not to be sold, they would suffer significant and unfair financial hardship. An epidemic of homelessness is raging, particularly in Dublin and other cities. This is the main way that people are now becoming homeless because they are powerless to do anything legally to stop landlords using these clauses to get them out. Surely the Minister of State knows this. A statutory declaration overseen by a solicitor is not good enough. We need landlords to provide proof that it is incumbent on them to sell the house and that they have made serious efforts to do that.

It would have been helpful if the Government had seen the need to introduce a ban on repossessions in general by banks and receivers where landlords are being put under pressure to sell their properties because prices are going up. The Government has not seen fit to introduce that in this legislation, although it is sorely needed to protect families from becoming homeless. We are asking that this be amended to make it even stronger, in order to put pressure on landlords to indicate that properties genuinely need to be vacated and that they are not just legally looking for ways to evict tenants so they can jack up the rent, which we all know is going on.

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