Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do. The programme for Government promises to improve security and affordability for renters. The Fianna Fáil election manifesto, on which the Minister campaigned vigorously, went further, promising to launch a "new deal for renters". Both documents also committed to reducing homelessness, yet the very first piece of legislation introduced by the Minister is nothing short of an attack on renters. It strips vital protections from the vast majority of tenants at the very time when they most desperately need them. If this Bill passes, rent increases are back on the table, as are existing and new notices to quit on all grounds. Contrary to the Minister's claims, the protections for renters whose incomes have been hit by Covid-19 are weak, overly complex and will be very easy for a small number of rogue landlords to get around. The result will be a significant undermining of both security and affordability for very many renters and a return to increasing levels of homelessness, particularly for families with children.

As the Minister knows, the private rental sector was in crisis before Covid-19. Rents were and continue to be at unsustainably high levels. The Daft.ieindex for the second quarter of 2020 tells us that new asking rents average at €1,400 across the State and at more than €2,000 in Dublin. The Residential Tenancies Board index, which combines new and existing rents, showed that at the end of the first quarter the average monthly rent was €1,200 throughout the State and more than €1,700 in Dublin. That is a nationwide annual increase of 5%.

Vacant possession notices to quit continued to drive family homelessness until the ban introduced by the Oireachtas by 27 March. Limited shifts of short-term lets into the long-term rental market have been heavily offset by the loss of long-term rentals. In the past three years, as a result of the inaction of the previous Government, we lost 17,000 rental properties in the market, with very significant consequences for renters and homelessness.

We know the ban on evictions, notices to quit and rent increases introduced by the Oireachtas on 27 March gave renters a much-needed break. It did much more than just shield tenants from the impact of Covid-19. It led to a dramatic drop in the number of families presenting as homeless and in emergency accommodation; this was the first substantial drop we have seen since Fine Gael took office in 2016. There was a 56% drop in April of families presenting as homeless and an even higher drop in the numbers ending up in emergency accommodation. We now have the lowest numbers of families in emergency accommodation in three years.

This confirms the argument many of us have been making that banning vacant possession notices to quit was key to reducing family homelessness. We know from Focus Ireland and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive that vacant possession notices to quit are the single largest cause of family homelessness. It speaks volumes that it took a health emergency for the outgoing Government to act decisively on reducing homelessness. Great work was done by the Department dealing with housing, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and homelessness organisations in limiting the spread of the virus and key to this was decongregation and reducing numbers of families with children in emergency accommodation.

There was widespread expectation that the ban on evictions, notices to quit and rent increases would be extended by the Government, and the Minister said it would be helpful to do so only a matter of weeks ago. Many of us called for the Government to go much further and we wanted the ban to be extended for all renters until January 2021, as well as the introduction of a comprehensive rent arrears debt resolution process, including the option of debt write-downs. However, just like with Deputies Eoghan Murphy and Simon Coveney, the previous Ministers, instead of getting legislation that protects renters, we are getting a Bill under the cover of a restrictive interpretation of the Constitution that leaves renters exposed to greater insecurity and unaffordability. Fianna Fáil's new deal for renters looks exactly like Fine Gael's old bad deal for renters.

I will deal specifically with the provisions of the Bill. The Minister claims Part 2 of the legislation protects renters whose tenancies are at risk due to Covid-19 income loss. In many respects, I simply do not agree with this assertion. This is a very cumbersome and complex provision, and for a small number of rogue landlords, it would be very easy to get around it. This is in no way a criticism of the drafters, as again, just like with previous Ministers, departmental officials have been given the impossible task of trying to construct very detailed and complex legislation in short periods.

The written declaration element is wholly unnecessary and it is a contradiction to research that Threshold recently published by Dr. Mick Byrne that indicates tenant-led renter protection often does not help the most vulnerable people. It will cause real difficulty for renters with capacity issues, including those related to mental health and addiction, as well as those with literacy and language difficulties. The threshold of "significant risk" to a tenancy is not defined and therefore we could see a series of disputes where landlords object to a tenant's claim that a tenancy is at significant risk clogging up the Residential Tenancies Board and preventing the vindication of these rights.

We also have the case of tenants fearful of receiving a notice to quit who may feel under pressure not to object to a rent increase. I spoke recently to a very senior and capable journalist who lives in the private rented sector. She told me that her experience is that because there is a huge demand for rental properties, tenants will often not seek to vindicate their rights because of a fear of receiving a notice to quit on other grounds. Just as the remainder of this Bill makes clear, if a tenant seeks the protection of this section, a notice to quit on any of the other grounds may be issued by the landlord. Otherwise, landlords will simply proceed as normal.

I accept there are some minor improvements on existing provisions with Part 3.

10 o’clock

I must say that the Minister is wholly overselling these as major interventions. Increasing the rent notice period to 28 days from 14 is welcome, as is formally introducing MABS in the Residential Tenancies Board process. However, as all the other grounds for ending a tenancy are still available, rogue landlords are likely to avoid the new rent arrears notice and look for a simpler or speedier way of getting rid of a tenant. The idea of giving someone with an eviction due date of 1 August a paltry nine extra days is really shameful.

On the issues not addressed in the Bill, vacant possession is the one I really do not understand. It is hard to understand why the Minister did not include a ban on vacant possession notices to quit in the Bill. Does he not understand the impact this one measure has had on levels of family homelessness? Does he not understand the impact of an increase in families in emergency accommodation on the spread of Covid-19? Did he consult with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive or homeless non-governmental organisations about the removal of this vital protection? Does he not know the consequences of this significant omission? My great fear is that the enormous progress made since March will be wiped away with this one single decision. I have no doubt that such a measure would have been consistent with section 4(2) of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act had it been properly crafted.

I have been contacted by a very large number of renters in recent days who are bitterly disappointed that the Minister is allowing rent increases again. Contrary to his claim that there is no constitutionally sound way of banning rent increases, I believe, and there is significant legal opinion, that it is possible. I understand that one NGO has forwarded one legal opinion to the Minister on this issue. It is clear that like his predecessor, he simply does not have the political will to do this. The consequence will be real financial hardship for tenants who were already paying far too much rent before the Covid-19 crisis.

The Minister had other choices. He could have extended the ban on evictions, notices to quit and rent increases until the end of the year. He could have amended the emergency legislation to allow limited notices to quit in cases such as wilful non-payment of rent, serious anti-social behaviour or where a property owner was at risk of homelessness. Those provisions would have made eminent sense and allowed the vast majority of renters to be protected. Instead he decided to do exactly what his predecessor would have done and shaft renters. Every time I hear a Minister say that we have to balance the rights of landlords and tenants, it is almost as if somehow these two groups of people have equal power in this relationship when we know that is simply not the case.

This is a very bad Bill. It is bad for renters, it is bad for the stability of the rental market, as it will lead to increased notices to quit and an exit of landlords from the market, and it is also bad for the local economy because every rent increase takes money away from renters' disposable income to be spent on local goods and services at such a local time. That is something that in the context of a stimulus plan makes no sense at all.

The Minister should not just believe me or listen to other members of the Opposition, he should listen to what the advocates working on the front line with renters are telling him Threshold, in a submission to Deputies this week, has said it is too narrow, overly complex and "will fail to protect many tenants who are at serious risk of homelessness". Focus Ireland, one of the country's leading family homeless charities, have said in a submission to Deputies this week that the Bill will not significantly prevent an increase in the numbers presenting as homeless. The legislation will be open to landlords to ignore rent arrears and evict on other grounds. The Simon Communities have called for "an extension of the moratoria until the end of 2020 with amendments to address some of the legitimate concerns of landlords", a sentiment I agree with wholeheartedly.

I am not surprised that Fianna Fáil or indeed Fine Gael would back this Bill, all the evidence shows they have never stood by renters, but for the Green Party to support this is genuinely shocking. This is not what that party campaigned for in the general election, or what was committed to in its manifesto, and in my view it is not what the party's Deputies were elected to this House for.

I know they will not vote against the Bill, so I urge them to absent themselves from the Chamber. If the Minister for Health could absent himself from the Chamber for the election of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, it would be eminently honourable for Green Party Deputies who say they want to stand by renters simply not to come to the Chamber to vote for this legislation later this week.

Sinn Féin, as I have said publicly, will table significant amendments. We look forward to what I think will be constructive amendments from other parties in opposition and commit to supporting those. Without meaningful change to the Bill, and without real protections for all renters who are experiencing insecurity and high rents, Sinn Féin will not support the Bill because we will not support legislation that creates greater insecurity and greater unaffordability for tens of thousands of renters in the private rented sector.

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