Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Maybe the Minister can respond when he is summing up because I have been waiting for my time for a while.

The RTB reported that it was informed of 374 eviction notices to tenants between March and the end of June this year, when the blanket eviction ban was in place. The RTB also said there was an increase in complaints about illegal evictions during September. Like everything, what good is legislation if it is not enforced and if people are still being put out on the street?

Section 2 provides for the emergency period whereby travel restrictions of a 5 km radius are imposed. Section 3 provides for notices of termination under the Act of 2004, and subsection (1) extends termination dates to after the emergency period. Interestingly, subsection (2) highlights Fianna Fáil priorities in that it provides for the exemptions to this Bill where a tenant is not complying with some of his or her obligations. It refers to section 16 of the 2004 Act, subsections (h)(i) and (m), which read:

16.—In addition to the obligations arising by or under any other enactment, a tenant of a dwelling shall— [...]

(h) not behave within the dwelling, or in the vicinity of it, in a way that is anti-social or allow other occupiers of, or visitors to, the dwelling to behave within it, or in the vicinity of it, in such a way,

(i) not act or allow other occupiers of, or visitors to, the dwelling to act in a way which would result in the invalidation of a policy of insurance in force in relation to the dwelling,

[...]

(m) not use the dwelling or cause it to be used for any purpose other than as a dwelling without the written consent of the landlord (which consent the landlord may, in his or her discretion, withhold).

Section 3(2) of the Bill also exempts landlords from the eviction ban, as per section 67(2)(a)(ii) of the Act of 2004, if the tenant is “threatening to the fabric of the dwelling or the property containing the dwelling”. Section 67(1) of that Act states, "This section applies where the tenancy is being terminated by the landlord by reason of the failure of the tenant to comply with any of the obligations of the tenancy."

In further Fianna Fáil style, section 3(3), regarding notices of termination, states, “A person shall not, by virtue of the operation of this section, acquire any rights under Part 4 of the Act of 2004.” God forbid tenants be accidentally granted a more secure tenure by a tenancy becoming a Part 4 tenancy due to this extended time. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 gave tenants the right to stay in rented accommodation for up to four years, following an initial six-month period. This right is known as security of tenure and applies to both periodic and fixed-term tenancies. A tenancy then becomes a Part 4 tenancy and can be followed by a further Part 4 tenancy. The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 extended a Part 4 tenancy, that is, security of tenure, from four years to six. This applies to all tenancies created from 24 December 2016. That is what the Government is preventing people from getting.

Section 4 provides for the entitlement to remain in occupation of the dwelling during emergency period, “until that date that is 10 days after the expiration of the emergency period”. Ten days. Has the Minister not looked on daft.ie or other rental sites? Does he think it is usual that someone can find an appropriate, affordable place and move in such a short space of time, especially given that what is happening with Covid-19 is fluid? We currently have level 5 lockdown for six weeks until the end of November, but what if level 5 is extended or the emergency period is shortened after a four-week review? Ten days does not provide much comfort or support, especially so close to Christmas. We will have a lockdown again after Christmas, another around Easter and one in August and September next year as well. We will just continue on like that. I agree that this Bill should just have a point at which it would roll over again.

The Taoiseach has said that the previous blanket ban was unconstitutional, but does that mean certain tenancies could be in danger? Are there any indications in that regard? Has the Department been liaising with Threshold and the RTB?

In July 2020, the ESRI produced a report entitled Exploring the Short-Run Implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Affordability in the Irish Private Rental Market. One of the key findings was that many non-supported private renters faced considerable affordability challenges prior to Covid-19. Further, around one in three, or approximately 70,000, households did not have sufficient income remaining after housing costs to cover a minimum standard of living expenditure, and that was before the pandemic.

I will support this Bill because it will offer some small security to tenants during our level 5 lockdown, but it is the least that the Minister and Government can do. It is a half-hearted way of offering some reprieve to tenants at this anxious time.

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