Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Bill. In the first instance, I would like to stress that the rental market in Ireland is a critical component of the housing market. There are people living in private rented accommodation who do not wish to be there. They are obliged to rent as there is no alternative. There are individuals who are eligible for social housing who are in private rented accommodation temporarily while they wait for social housing to be provided. There are others who do not qualify for social housing, who are earning significant money and are in private rented accommodation but have no capacity to save the deposits required to allow them to purchase their own homes. Successive Governments over many years have failed to address this issue. I sincerely hope that I am right in giving the Minister and the new Government the benefit of the doubt and that they will implement a housing plan that delivers the social, affordable and private housing required to avoid legislation of this nature.

The reality is that where tenants are in extreme difficulty, they should be offered social housing. It should be facilitated immediately, keeping them from the peril of homelessness. This would do away with landlords having to litigate with the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, and clogging up the courts, and in so doing would take the landlord out of peril in respect of financial institutions. In the general spirit of a normal letting, this legislation would seem unnecessary, but as we are not in normal times, it is understandable that such legislation is required. In most instances, it is accepted that it is required. However, it will not be without its problems and instances of exploitation. I welcome the fact that it is more specific and targeted than much of the legislation of late.

What is not understandable, however, is that prior to Covid-19 it was evident that the RTB was broken. It is not working. For the majority of landlords and tenants being compliant is not an issue. They acknowledge and respect compliance and want transparency. Landlords, indeed, believe that landlords need to be held responsible. For many, their reputation is important to them. In the same way, tenants respect their rented accommodation as they would if they owned it but often endure tenant neighbours who do not wish to live in harmony.

Many good people, tenants and landlords, do what they are supposed to do and make a call if there is a problem or simply call in. I have even known landlords to drop in for tea and treat tenants as they would family and so on. They are not all rogues or faceless corporations.

I want to raise an issue which if not addressed may well see the rental market only contain faceless corporations. I want to address the issue of the significant inequity of timelines in cases dealt with by the RTB. I have constant complaints that cases take an inordinate amount of time, whatever the issue, be it on behalf of the landlord or tenant. Decisions made by the RTB are regarded as ridiculous and it appears that court orders are unenforceable because of a wording issue. I believe the Minister is already aware of this issue. As a public representative I find it impossible to get in touch with the RTB and I will be writing to the Minister in this regard as it is extremely frustrating for many constituents in Wexford.

I have constituents in abundance who have raised queries about the delay by the RTB in hearing cases being told an adjudicator is unavailable. Some have raised issues about equity and impartiality. There needs to be a register of tenants and landlords who breach or default on contractual obligations. There must be mandatory disclosure of a conviction for antisocial behaviour by a prospective tenant to a landlord. Details and findings of all RTB mediations or hearings should be published, with the in camerarule applied to protect identities, to allow transparency and consistency. There must be a timelined and streamlined approach and where the RTB is inordinately causing the delay there must be a compensation fund that deals with this issue for the aggrieved party. We need landlords in the property market as much as we need housing. I remind the Minister we do not have institutional landlords in the regions or rural Ireland. Many depend greatly on small private landlords as they are the only landlords that exist for Wexford constituents and those in other small rural and regional towns.

I hope it is the Minister's intention to secure a compensation fund for those disproportionately affected by the legislation. Remember that in March 2020 the initial moratorium was aligned with the forbearance of the main banks and financial institutions but this is not the case now and many buy-to-let and small private landlords will be affected and will need assistance. The legislation is necessary but I call on the Minister to consider its gravity and, as a minimum gesture, set up a task force as a matter of urgency to conduct a complete review of the RTB and ensure equity for all concerned.

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