Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to add to the note on amendment No. 48 that section 35 of the Act of 2004 will be amended to require a landlord must comply with section 39A of that Act when serving a notice of termination and any notice served in contravention shall be invalid of this Bill. I will provide detail on this shortly.

The new provisions in sections 35(12) to 35(15), inclusive, provide that upon receipt of a notice of termination the RTB will, in cases of terminations grounded on a landlord's intention to sell, occupy by the landlord or a family member, substantially refurbish or renovate or change the use of the rented dwelling, seek to ascertain the tenant's contact details and to pass those details, if ascertained, onto the landlord and the tenant's consent, if requested by the landlord, for the purpose of making a relet offer.

Section 94 amends section 39A of the Act of 2004 to require a landlord to simultaneously copy the RTB with all notices of termination that he or she serves on a tenant. The RTB will then notify the tenant of the timeframe for the referral of a dispute as to the validity of the notice of termination, increased under section 98 from 28 days to 90 days after receipt of the notice of termination in cases where there has been no breach of tenancy obligations, and provide the tenant and landlord with a fresh copy of the statement setting out a summary of their tenancy rights and obligations, as well as details of the RTB's dispute resolution service.

Section 96 substitutes table 1 of section 66 of the Act of 2004, which sets out the termination notice period to be given to a tenant by a landlord where there has been no breach of tenancy obligations. An increase of approximately two months is provided to the period of termination notice that applies to tenants with tenancies of less than three years in duration where there has been no breach of tenant's obligations.

Section 99 provides that Part 11 would commence on the day of the passing of this Bill. Part 11 provides for some standard consequential technical amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

Amendment No. 49 provides for a number of amendments to the Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019 to increase by 12 months the period permitted for an application to be made to register as an approved housing body, AHB. It is proposed to amend the Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019 to extend by 12 months the timeframe for AHBs to register with the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority.

The 2019 Act provides for the regulation of approved housing bodies for the purposes of supporting stronger governance and the financial viability of that sector, with a particular focus on safeguarding the significance of public investment being made in the delivery of social housing by AHBs. The Act provided for the establishment of the independent Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority, AHBRA. Section 34 of the 2019 Act sets out deadlines for the AHBs to register with the AHBRA, depending on their size. The proposed amendment provides for a 12-month extension to the existing registration for all currently registered AHBs, including those deemed registered AHBs with the AHBRA. The extension of this period will allow for the analysis and further consideration of a technical issue that has arisen in respect of the legal definition of the eligibility criteria for an application to the register.

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