Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

There can be no doubt that we are living in the middle of a very serious housing emergency. Rents, as we know, are at record levels, with the average rent now at €1,056. The average rent in Dublin is now a shocking €1,518. In the past year, rents have risen practically everywhere. They have risen by, for example, 21% in Limerick, 14% in Waterford and 13% in Westmeath. These are all very strong cases for rent pressure zones. They have also risen by 11% in Cork, where there is an existing rent pressure zone.

Overall, throughout the country rents have increased by 9.5% in the past year. It is because of this that the Social Democrats have brought forward the Bill. We believe the spiralling rents are directly responsible for the surge in homelessness. These increases are simply unsustainable and lay bare the abject failure of a reliance on the market to ensure an adequate supply of appropriate housing for the population. People are paying more money for poorer housing as the market contracts further and further, and desperate prospective tenants are left to trawl through shorter and shorter lists on websites such as daft.iefor any kind of liveable and affordable property.

In addition, I am sure every Deputy here this evening deals on an almost daily basis with families and individuals who are either becoming homeless, have been made homeless, are in emergency accommodation or are sleeping on the floors of family and friends. These situations are a direct result of the failure of successive Governments to effectively ensure the delivery of sufficient housing in Ireland at an affordable price. It is an issue that goes far beyond homelessness, but homelessness is one of the most tragic outcomes of this failure by the Government. The failure to fund proper public house building programmes over the past number of years, along with the failure to control land prices for private sector housing, has resulted in the current crisis. This, in turn, has put a particularly severe strain on the very poorly regulated rental sector.

We would all like to see a properly developed rental sector. It would be a critical element of any housing strategy. We know that in most other European countries there are strong rental sectors, but they are sectors where people are guaranteed affordable rent, where there are effective rent caps and where people are assured of security of tenure. In such circumstances, long-term rental is a viable proposition for people in terms of providing for their housing needs. Unfortunately, we are very far away from it in this country, and what we have are many accidental landlords. Many of them were on the airwaves today raising issues about this legislation.

Rent controls are not about ensuring that people who may have become accidental landlords and are in negative equity are bailed out. That is not what rent controls should address. Rent controls are about ensuring people can access good quality rental accommodation at an affordable price. Much work needs to be done on developing this type of long-term rental option for people if we are to ensure people have choice when it comes to the provision of housing.

It is hardly surprising that homelessness is at record levels. According to Focus Ireland, there was a 17% increase in family homelessness over 2017. As it stands today, 8,587 people in Ireland are officially homeless. Of these, 36%, that is, 3,079, are children. By any standard, this is a shocking indictment of the Government's housing policy.

The Government has long been promising to address the fundamental flaws in our housing sector, but progress has been painfully slow. Why is it not a stated objective of Government to drive down the cost of housing and make housing affordable for all families whether buying or renting? This has never been stated by the Government. I would like to hear the Minister's view on this, given that housing is such a central part of people's lives. It is the biggest single purchase that any of us make and it is critical to our welfare, health and well-being, yet the Minister seems to be prepared to stand by while so many people are forced into appalling housing circumstances or homelessness or, indeed, are put to the pin of their collar to put a roof over their heads. It is a central responsibility of the Government to ensure people can access adequate housing in line with their budget.

I would like to hear the Minister coming out and saying it is an objective of the Government's housing policy to drive down house prices, but I have been waiting to hear that and we will be left waiting. I have to ask, and I hope the Minister will answer the question for me in his contribution, why it is that the determination of the former Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, was to prioritise the recapitalisation of the banks and the bailout of property speculators has overridden a key responsibility of the Government, which is to ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing for its people. We all remember too well the then Minister, Deputy Noonan, when he introduced his help to buy scheme. It was a stated intention of the scheme to stimulate demand and this, in turn, inevitably inflated house prices. We have to ask, in terms of the previous Government and the former Minister, Deputy Noonan, in particular, who exactly was he serving as a Minister in Cabinet? Was he serving his masters in the banks and some of his masters in the property development sector? Was anybody in government taking their responsibility seriously in terms of ensuring people had access to decent housing?

We now have a population of 895,600 renters in this country. That is 20% of our population living in the private rental sector. Many are in very precarious positions, living in fear of a notice to quit from their landlords. Increasingly, we see landlords seeking to use exemptions under the Residential Tenancies Act, whereby they can claim they are selling or refurbishing the property or moving in a family member to justify termination of a tenancy. At present, the notice periods for tenants in this situation are extremely short. It is these tenants who are the most vulnerable to homelessness, and these tenants who are the main focus of the Bill before us.

The Bill is structured as follows. Section 1 deals with interpretation. Section 2 provides for longer periods of notice for tenants when landlords are terminating a tenancy. Section 3 provides that new tenants would have access to details of the amount of rent paid under the previous tenancy, to ensure the maximum increase for rents charged in rent pressure zones is applied correctly.

Section 4 raises the maximum fine that may be applied under section 9 of the Act from €3,000 to €15,000. With rising rents, the penalties set down in the Act need to be raised in order to maintain an adequate deterrent. Section 5 sets out the Short Title, collective citation and construction.

The Bill provides for longer periods of notice for tenants when landlords are terminating a tenancy. Currently, a very short minimum notice period is set down in legislation. Tenants with less than six months in a tenancy are only entitled to 28 days' notice from the landlord. Tenants resident for between six and 12 months are only entitled to 35 days. In the current climate, where there is a severe housing shortage, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for tenants and the housing services supporting them to find alternative accommodation in such a short space of time. The short notice period is undoubtedly a factor in driving the surge in homelessness, as people are simply unable to source alternative accommodation in such a narrow timeframe.

In a comparative sense, Ireland has very short notice periods for tenants who have been residing in a property for less than five years. Notice periods were improved under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 but only for those resident in a property for five years or longer. We want to change this. This Bill would extend notice periods for termination of tenancies by landlords so all tenancies under one year's duration would require a 90-day notice period, with tenancies of between one and five years requiring 120 days' notice. The proposed change would amend section 66 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and provide an important extra protection for tenants to prevent homelessness. This change would bring us into line with other European countries where renting is more common.

According to a report commissioned by the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, the minimum notice period in the Netherlands is between three and six months, depending on how long the tenant has been in residence. The landlord may only seek a termination in certain circumstances, including if it is needed for the landlord's family or a family member's use, if the property is to be sold or if the tenant has broken the terms of the contract. In some cases, landlords may have to cover some of the tenants' moving costs. Conversely, in Sweden it is very difficult for a landlord to terminate a lease, even when strong grounds are cited. In some cases where the landlord wishes to renovate the premises, he or she may have to provide alternative accommodation. In a comparative sense, Irish landlords have a huge degree of autonomy to terminate leases at will.

The vast majority of landlords respect their tenants and treat them fairly. We seek to amend the existing legislation and not punish landlords; rather, our objective is to ensure that landlords act within the law and that tenants can have sufficient time to make arrangements to move out, with a chance to find alternative accommodation to rent without being at risk of having nowhere to go. This is a reality for far too many people in Ireland today and one of the primary pathways into homelessness for individuals and families. An unexpected tenancy termination turns into prolonged couch-surfing, which in turn often leads to homeless services. The proposed changes are not onerous or punishing, despite the reaction from some landlords today to this Bill. In the current climate, where there is a severe housing shortage, it is very difficult for tenants and housing services to source suitable alternative accommodation within 28 days.

As has been pointed out, this section of the Bill will not address the supply issue for housing. That is correct, and the ball is very firmly in the Government's court when it comes to improving supply. We are seeking to ensure families and individuals can be given a proper and fair chance, with adequate time, to find new accommodation in what is a very volatile housing market. We want to ensure all the information and supports are available to these people. As Focus Ireland commented with respect to the Bill, these steps provide those at risk of homelessness or exploitation with time and information. Focus Ireland knows from its work with families and individuals that to prevent homelessness, time and information are the two most important tools.

There are other proposals in the legislation before us that I will speak to later. They relate to ensuring tenants have access to data on people in the accommodation prior to their tenancy and increasing penalties. I will now give way to my colleague, Deputy Catherine Murphy, but I urge Members on all sides of the House to support this legislation.

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