Dáil debates
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: From the Seanad (Resumed)
1:55 pm
Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Seanad amendments Nos. 52, 54, 56, 57, 60 to 64, inclusive, 66 to 72, inclusive, 74, 75, 86 to 99, inclusive, 101 and 102 are related and will be discussed together.
Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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This group of amendments includes a number of measures to enable the PRTB to deal effectively with tenants who do not comply with their obligations, including the obligation to pay rent. The published Bill provides for a new procedure to deal with tenants who do not comply with their statutory obligation to pay rent pending the determination of their dispute. These amendments insert a new section 76A into the 2004 Act, which will provide that where there is a dispute before the board and the tenant does not pay the rent, the landlord may bring a complaint before the PRTB. On the hearing of this complaint, the PRTB can order the tenant to pay any rent due. The published Bill provides that the matter will then be adjourned for a period of no more than 14 days to allow the tenant to comply with this order and that where the tenant does not comply, the PRTB will have the power to terminate the tenancy irrespective of whether a notice of termination has been served.
Significant concerns regarding the power of the PRTB to terminate the tenancy at 14 days’ notice were expressed on Committee Stage of the Bill in the Dáil. On foot of subsequent legal advice, these amendments remove this termination provision from the procedure. However, the interim procedure to compel a tenant to pay the rent remains part of the Bill and is provided for by means of the insertion of the new section 76A into the principal Act. The provision has now been moved in the Bill and this is provided for by means of amendments Nos. 56 and 57, with consequential amendments Nos. 60 to 64, inclusive, 71, 72, 87 to 89, inclusive, 101 and 102. Amendments Nos. 66 to 70, inclusive, are technical drafting amendments.
Amendment No. 86 provides that the board must report to the Minister on the operation of the new section 76A six months after its commencement and thereafter each year in its annual report. I believe this procedure, together with amendments Nos. 52, 74 and 75, will provide for a fast and effective way for the PRTB to deal with that small minority of tenants who do not pay their rent.
In addition to the section 76A procedures, amendment No. 52 is designed to address an issue that has been a cause of concern to landlords, in particular. In certain cases a minor error in a notice of termination has caused the whole case to fall at the last hurdle, regardless of the merits of the case, sometimes after months of processing and hearings. This situation is being remedied by amendment No. 52 to the effect that a minor error or defect, which is not prejudicial to the tenant, in a notice of termination would not invalidate the notice.
Section 124 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides for the enforcement of PRTB determination orders in the Circuit Court. While the PRTB endeavours to enforce as many of its orders as possible, Circuit Court sittings around the country are limited and in many cases there are significant waiting lists, as I mentioned earlier. Amendments Nos. 74 and 75 will amend the Act so that in future PRTB determination orders can be enforced in the District Court rather than the Circuit Court. This will considerably reduce the expense of enforcing a determination order and should also provide for faster hearings as there are more sittings of the District Court than the Circuit Court.
Amendment No. 54 clarifies that the notice period for the termination of a tenancy for non-payment of rent is 28 days.
Seanad amendment No. 53: Section 17: In page 16, after line 42, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 66 of Principal Act 19. (1) Section 66 of the Principal Act is amended—(a) by substituting the following Table for Table 1: “TABLE 1 Termination by LandlordDuration of Tenancy (1)Notice Period (2)Less than 6 months28 days6 or more months but less than 1 year35 days1 year or more but less than 2 years42 days2 years or more but less than 3 years56 days3 years or more but less than 4 years84 days4 years or more but less than 5 years112 days5 years or more but less than 6 years140 days6 years or more but less than 7 years168 days7 years or more but less than 8 years196 days8 or more years224 days”, and (b) by substituting the following Table for Table 2: “TABLE 2 Termination by TenantDuration of Tenancy (1)Notice Period (2)Less than 6 months28 days6 or more months but less than 1 year35 days1 year or more but less than 2 years42 days2 years or more but less than 4 years56 days4 years or more but less than 8 years84 days8 or more years112 days”.(2) Where, immediately before the coming into operation of subsection (1), a period of notice was specified in a notice of termination in respect of a tenancy to which section 66 of the Principal Act applies but that period had not expired, notwithstanding the amendments to section 66 of the Principal Act made by subsection (1), the periods of notice specified in the Tables to that section before those amendments were made shall continue to apply in respect of the notice of termination concerned as if those amendments had not been made.”.
Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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I move amendment No. 3 to Seanad amendment No. 53:
In section 19(1), to delete paragraph (b) and substitute the following:“(b) the duration of tenancy shall not affect the notice period required for termination by a tenant, which shall in all cases be 28 days.”.
Tá
- Tommy Broughan
- Dara Calleary
- Niall Collins
- Michael Colreavy
- Ruth Coppinger
- Lucinda Creighton
- Seán Crowe
- Clare Daly
- Dessie Ellis
- Martin Ferris
- Michael Fitzmaurice
- Seán Fleming
- Tom Fleming
- Noel Grealish
- John Halligan
- Séamus Healy
- Michael Healy-Rae
- Colm Keaveney
- Billy Kelleher
- Pádraig MacLochlainn
- Charlie McConalogue
- Mary Lou McDonald
- Finian McGrath
- John McGuinness
- Sandra McLellan
- Catherine Murphy
- Paul Murphy
- Denis Naughten
- Seán Ó Fearghaíl
- Aengus Ó Snodaigh
- Jonathan O'Brien
- Thomas Pringle
- Róisín Shortall
- Brian Stanley
- Mick Wallace
Níl
- James Bannon
- Tom Barry
- Ray Butler
- Jerry Buttimer
- Catherine Byrne
- Eric Byrne
- Ciarán Cannon
- Joe Carey
- Paudie Coffey
- Paul Connaughton
- Ciara Conway
- Marcella Corcoran Kennedy
- Michael Creed
- John Deasy
- Jimmy Deenihan
- Pat Deering
- Regina Doherty
- Paschal Donohoe
- Robert Dowds
- Bernard Durkan
- Alan Farrell
- Frank Feighan
- Anne Ferris
- Peter Fitzpatrick
- Charles Flanagan
- Brendan Griffin
- Dominic Hannigan
- Noel Harrington
- Simon Harris
- Martin Heydon
- Brendan Howlin
- Derek Keating
- Paul Kehoe
- Seán Kenny
- Seán Kyne
- Michael McCarthy
- Helen McEntee
- Gabrielle McFadden
- Dinny McGinley
- Joe McHugh
- Tony McLoughlin
- Michael McNamara
- Michelle Mulherin
- Dara Murphy
- Dan Neville
- Derek Nolan
- Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
- Patrick O'Donovan
- Fergus O'Dowd
- John O'Mahony
- Joe O'Reilly
- Willie Penrose
- John Perry
- John Paul Phelan
- Ruairi Quinn
- Pat Rabbitte
- James Reilly
- Michael Ring
- Brendan Ryan
- Alan Shatter
- Arthur Spring
- Emmet Stagg
- David Stanton
- Liam Twomey
- Jack Wall
- Alex White
2:10 pm
Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I move amendment No. 4 to Seanad amendment No. 53:
In section 19, to delete subsection (2).
Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Seanad amendments Nos. 55, 65 and 73 are related and will be discussed to.
Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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These are technical amendments.
2:30 pm
Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As the proposer of amendment No. 1 to Seanad amendment No. 82 is not present, it cannot be moved.