Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Shortall and Murphy for bringing forward this Bill because it will make important and helpful changes for those who find themselves in difficulties in their rental situation. As is the case with most Deputies, our constituency offices are overwhelmed by people calling with housing issues. Yesterday I was dealing with a woman, Maureen, in Limerick city who is 69 years of age, has been renting the same house for 30 years and recently received a notice to quit. This came as a massive shock to her and she was very upset. After contacting Threshold, she was informed the notice was invalid and she now has slightly more time in her home before she has to leave. This woman's case highlights how vulnerable are those who rent their homes.

Section 2 of the Bill, which aims to extend notice periods, would have helped Maureen and, if passed, would provide renters, particularly long-term renters, with more time to find a new home if their tenancy is terminated. As stated by my colleagues, the current short notice periods are a factor feeding into the homelessness crisis as tenants can find themselves put out of a house with few or no alternative options on the market in this housing crisis. I thank Novas Initiatives and other organisations throughout the country like it which provide an excellent service for those who find themselves in such situations.

I welcome section 3 of the Bill. This welcome provision aims to give tenants access to information on the previous rent paid in order to see if the rent caps are being applied. Although rent pressure zones are limited in their effectiveness, they do give some renters certainty where they are in place. Unfortunately, despite Limerick city seeing rent increases of 19.1% in the past year, it is still not listed as a rent pressure zone. We have had increases of 57% in the past five years in the rental market. Landlords who flout the law are still commonplace and enforcing the current legislation is a massive problem. Therefore, the increase in penalties for breaches of residential tenancies laws may make some of these unscrupulous landlords rethink their ill-treatment of their renters.

Like my colleagues, I am happy Sinn Féin is supporting the Bill and, again, I thank Deputies Shortall and Murphy for bringing it forward.

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