Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We all know that there are many landlords who abuse their position of power, as they would see it, in how they treat their tenants. There are also many good landlords who look after their tenants and treat them fairly. I welcome that the Bill provides the RTB with powers to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in improper conduct, including non-compliance with the rent increase restrictions in rent pressure zones, RPZs. The Bill makes it a criminal offence for landlords to implement rent increases that contravene the law and do not adhere to new definitions of "substantial change", fail to co-operate with an investigation and fail to register and update tenancies with the RTB.

My colleague mentioned the national deposit scheme. Every Deputy knows that there are people, in particular students, who have been badly treated by landlords. Many have not got their deposits back. Frivolous excuses are used - a mark on a wall, the property being dirty, something not being right, etc. Any opportunity in the wide earthly world is taken to avoid returning a deposit. There must be more legal controls over deposits in order that people can have a better chance of getting them back. In 99% of the time, everything in the property is in a good condition apart from normal wear and tear. Sometimes, though, any excuse is used so that tenants do not get all or any of their deposits back.

The requirement for an annual registration of tenancies with the RTB is a mistake. Currently, a tenancy is registered when the tenant moves in and the landlord pays €90, which covers the tenancy for four years. If that situation changes and the tenancy must be registered every year, it will mean a cost of €360 over the same period. The Minister will say that the landlord has to pay it, but we all know that it will be the tenant who ultimately pays. That would be unfair. It would also be another charge on the tenant that he or she can badly afford. If the tenancy must be registered every year, set the charge at €25 or a figure that would equate to the same level over four years.

There are many vacant properties in rural towns. Where I come from in the north west, plenty of accommodation was available up to a year ago in many small towns like Ballymote, Tobercurry, Boyle and so on. Due to pressure in the major towns and cities, people have been forced out into rural areas and have taken up all of that accommodation. I understand that Sligo County Council does not have even one house available in Ballymote or Tobercurry. Roscommon is in a similar situation with Boyle. People are finding it difficult to get accommodation. Many properties in the centre of these small towns used to be small businesses before they closed. They are empty at the moment. The Government has picked out certain towns across the country where it will try to regenerate town centres, but there used to be something in rural areas a number of years ago called the rural and urban renewal scheme. If people invested in and did up these types of property, they would get tax relief on their rental income. Such a measure would not cost the Government anything and would generate hundreds of rooms for accommodation purposes, be they flats or whatever. However, it would cost money. Currently, it does not pay landlords in rural areas to carry out such work. The old incentive worked before and could work again, but it should be specifically used in town centres to help people restore properties to livable condition.

I do not know whether my next issue is relevant to this Bill. People in certain housing estates are living in fear because of serious anti-social behaviour at night. I am aware of it happening in Sligo town and other areas across my constituency. The people being affected by this anti-social behaviour are usually elderly. They are truly afraid to say or report anything. This issue must be examined carefully and addressed. Currently, it takes too long to deal with anti-social behaviour, which is unfair on many of the people affected.

I wish to raise a further issue, one that I have raised previously and that my colleague mentioned. Some families have one person working in the house and two, three or four children. I encountered a case recently where a family was spending €750 per week on rent. The family cannot go on the housing list because its income is over the limit. It applied to the county council for a loan to purchase a house it could afford, but the council refused the application, saying that the family did not have the capability to repay the loan. This despite the fact these people were paying €750 per week in rent to a landlord, which would be more than enough to repay a mortgage. Things are happening as regards the overall situation, but it needs to be addressed if we are to give such people some hope that they will be able to get houses of their own for themselves and their families. In fairness, the council's interest rate is good at 2.5% and makes purchasing a house achievable, but people are getting no credit for the amount of money they are paying in rent. I am referring to people who have been renting for the past five, six or seven years and whose rental records show that they never missed a payment. Despite this, the council will not take that into consideration when they apply for loans. This issue needs to be addressed.

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