Results 4,261-4,280 of 15,009 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Yes. It would be captured by this provision.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: If I owned a single apartment in a building with 20 apartments, though, it would not be captured by this provision.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: How does the Tyrrelstown amendment interact with this, or does it at all?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: In a sense, the Tyrrelstown amendment would act as a protection for a landlord who wanted to sell the block. The landlord would have to sell it to another landlord with the tenants in situ.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Does that mean that, if Senator Cummins and I were co-investors in an apartment block in Waterford and we owned-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not even own a residential home, let alone have the money to invest.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Let us say that we own an apartment block. Senator Cummins owns half the units and I own the other half. I want to sell my half. Am I captured by subsection (c)(v)? Senator Cummins is happy to continue renting out his apartments, but I am in financial difficulty and want to sell on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Even it that was a development where we had four, eight or ten apartments each, subsection (c)(v) would only kick in if I were selling the entire building. If I was a part owner of the building and was selling units therein, I would have to offer them to the tenants.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: That would really only apply in cases of fewer than ten units because the Tyrrelstown amendment would kick in anyway.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: It would only apply to smaller apartment blocks, of which there are quite a number in Senator Cummins’s constituency, for example. Someone mentioned pre-1965 buildings. Would it apply to those? If someone had a residential home but had entered into four separate tenancy agreements – not licence agreements – in respect of it and was now selling the home, the subsection...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: In the first instance, I was talking about bedrooms in a house with shared facilities where each occupant had a free-standing tenancy agreement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not mean where the landlord lives. If a landlord has a house in Dublin – it has a kitchen, two bathrooms and four bedrooms – with four separate tenancy agreements and the landlord is selling, the landlord issues four notices of termination on grounds of sale.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: My point is not for or against. In that instance, would subsection (c)(v) not apply?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: The point is, it provides an exemption. I am not arguing for or against it. I just want to be clear on the circumstances. Such tenancies would be exempt from the provisions of this Bill.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will make two final points. I thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence. It was good to hear the data on the number of cases in which the slip rule had been applied. If the witnesses were in a position to share it with the committee, that would be useful. I understand the logic of the rule, but a statutory declaration is of a different order than a letter. If the Department is going...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Let me give an example. This is why the affidavit or statutory declaration is important. A slip on a notice of termination could relate to a signature, but a signature on a statutory declaration is different. For example, I do not think the slip rule should be applied to the absence of a signature on a statutory declaration because that is one of the most important parts of the document to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Sure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: My final question relates to the Supreme Court judgment. I appreciate the RTB is asking the Department to deal with this issue. When we get the explanatory memorandum to the legislation, that will be a valuable place to highlight the kinds of things we are talking about. The RTB must conduct its business in a manner that is constitutionally appropriate and in line with Supreme Court...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a lot of sympathy for what Senator Cummins is saying. This is something that would benefit both good landlords and good tenants. I am of the view that RTB determinations should be enforceable, particularly up to a certain level of value. I know that Attorneys General over a number of Governments would probably disagree but the real issue here is whether there are certain levels of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Eoin Ó Broin: Yes, but they still have to go to court and that can take 12 months.