Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Táim ag roinnt mo chuid ama leis an Teachta McAuliffe, sé nóiméad dom agus ceithre nóiméad don Teachta McAuliffe, le cead an Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

On behalf of the Government, I thank the Deputies opposite, particularly those who brought forward this Bill, the purpose of which is to amend the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2021. The Bill specifically includes safeguards relating to student rents and the protections that should apply to students. I agree with previous speakers that lessons should be learned from the pandemic and that where additional protections are required, we should put them in place. I thank USI in particular for its input into the preparation of this Bill. As was mentioned earlier, this is the USI's Bill. It is the union's work and its legislation. I really welcome the engagement the USI has had with Opposition parties and the Government. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and I have met USI representatives, as have Deputy McAuliffe and several Deputies opposite. It is good to see that students can bring their issues forward, with proposed solutions.

I wish to advise the House that a working group comprising officials from my Department and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will ensure that there is ongoing co-operation between the two Departments and that we will act in tandem as much as possible, particularly on the issue of student accommodation which is still an area of concern.

The Bill before us is both helpful and timely, as is this morning's debate. I am pleased to support pre-legislative scrutiny of the legislation. Deputy Ó Broin mentioned measures introduced last year by the previous Oireachtas, involving the co-operation of many on the housing committee including myself, Deputy Ó Broin and the former Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy, relating to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. We worked with the USI on those measures and I want to continue with that collaborative approach.

The key objective of the Bill is to limit the amount of rent payable in advance by students, thus limiting their exposure to losing quite significant sums of money. There are some elements in the Bill which we will need to work on. In that context, I advise Deputies that my Department, in consultation with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, has been working on the general scheme of a housing and residential tenancies Bill that will provide similar protections across the entire residential rental sector, not just the student accommodation sector. I will provide more detail on this later but I accept and recognise that this Private Member's Bill aims to help students in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government Bill, which I expect to bring forward and enact this year, will help all tenants in the long term. We need to ensure that we have long-term fixes and not just reactions to what has happened during the Covid pandemic. I will work to ensure that the best aspects of the Bill before us are teased out and integrated into that legislation.

As it stands, the Residential Tenancies Acts do not prescribe specific terms and conditions regarding the payment of rents, deposits or refunds for inclusion in individual letting arrangements in the private rental market, including the student-specific accommodation sector. Contract law governs such arrangements and the specific terms associated with them and the obligations are likely to be set out in a written contract signed by both the student and the landlord. However, I am committed to working with all interested parties to see how we can strengthen this and provide clarity in those areas. The Acts now provide that disputes relating to non-refunding of deposits and rent setting may be referred to the RTB, on foot of changes made in the last Oireachtas. I intend to ensure that this continues to be the case. Any further amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act to govern specific terms and conditions regarding refunds payable on foot of Covid-19 under individual letting arrangements in the student-specific accommodation would need to be carefully considered. That is why I welcome the opportunity for this Bill to go before the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

I wish to advise Deputies that the general scheme of the housing and residential tenancies Bill that I intend to bring to Government for approval in the very near future includes proposals to restrict the amount of any upfront payments of rent and deposits across the entire private rental sector, not just the student accommodation sector.

I want to go further than that by restricting the level of deposits across the sector. That Bill is being worked on as I speak.

To give Deputies some insight, subject to Government approval, the Bill will aim to provide that all tenants in the residential rental sector, including, but not limited to, students, would only be required to make an up-front payment on tenancy commencement that does not exceed an amount equivalent to one month's rent plus one month's deposit; thereafter, only one month’s rent can be payable in advance; a landlord will be legally obliged to adhere to this practice; and non-compliance by a landlord with this obligation could be referred by a tenant for dispute resolution to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. I will be working through those provisions individually with the joint committee.

The provision in the Government Bill for a maximum up-front payment would protect all tenants and counter discrimination, in particular for lower income groups. That is what we want to do. This debate and the Bill brought forward by the USI is timely. I want to bring in some of the changes across the rental market, not just specifically to students. I welcome the debate and look forward to the Bill going for legislative scrutiny.

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