Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like everyone else here, I know of a number of people whose tenancies have recently been terminated through no fault of their own. They are facing into a winter of uncertainty. Of course, I welcome any attempt to keep families in their homes and provide them with security. For families who feared losing their tenancy or perhaps felt a notice to quit was imminent, this will buy them time and eliminate the worry of eviction in the coming months. It also buys the sector time to increase delivery of new homes; something to which we are absolutely committed.

I have raised my concerns previously in this Chamber that a rent freeze and eviction ban could lead to a similar situation to that experienced in Berlin, where things got worse for tenants after measures were introduced because the supply of rental properties dried up and landlords left the market. We have a very constrained market here in Ireland. We must guard against those potential unintended consequences at all costs. We need to give tenants certainly and security. That is the absolute bottom line. We will not achieve that long-term security for tenants without bringing landlords along with us, however. That is why I would personally favour also introducing measures that support landlords and keep them in the market because that is how we keep tenants in their homes.

Housing for All is aimed at addressing Ireland's overall housing supply challenge but we know the private renal market has now become an acute crisis. Small-scale landlords are exiting the market. At the same time, there is a need for an additional 6,500 rental properties annually, according to the housing needs and demand assessment. Owners of one or two rental properties represent 86% of registered tenancies. Preliminary data from the RTB survey of landlords show that taxation is a major factor for exiting the sector. Notwithstanding the various protections for tenants, it is clear that extra steps are required to stem the exit of landlords from the private market and most importantly, to support renters who are paying high rents that are often more than a mortgage would cost.

Tax is the one area in which a quick market response can be encouraged. I am not talking about institutional landlords. I am talking about the 86% of landlords who have one or two properties. I am talking about the mom and pop landlords and accidental landlords. I am talking about helping to keep them and their properties in the rental market. How can we do this? We need to give them fair tax treatment. It is my belief that tenants should get a dividend from any tax reduction landlords receive. There are two goals here. First, we need to keep landlords in the market so tenants have a place to rent. Second, and most crucially, we need to reduce rents for renters. I welcome the tax credit for renters that will give couples back €2,000 in tax in the next few months. I am glad that is now being extended to parents who pay rent for their children if, for example, the children are students. I believe we need to do more for renters but we also need to do more for landlords.

We should look at capital gains tax and at providing some form of relief on property sold, acquired and retained as rental accommodation, including an appropriate clawback for a five-year period. This would give flexibility and incentive for landlords to enter and stay in the market to deliver homes for people. It needs to pay to be a landlord and it needs to cost less to rent. Landlords need to stay in the market and tenants desperately need security. While I welcome this Bill, we need to be even more innovative.

On the topic of banning evictions, I want to mention those who are overholding because they have nowhere to go. I ask the Minister of State to look at their particular circumstances too.

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