Results 10,801-10,820 of 27,073 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I accept that the substantial refurbishments definition is an improvement and it is why I am supporting the Bill, but it does not deal with the substantial fear that now hangs over those residents. When the number of residents drops to nine, which it will at some point, a vulture fund or property investor, whatever one calls it, which has a clear history of trying to drive those people out,...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: They have to sell with the tenants.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Do I need to move amendment No. 13?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: This relates to the definition of landlord. Is that correct?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It states that any financial institution, equity fund or investment fund that has taken possession of a dwelling that is the subject of an existing tenancy but where no receiver has been appointed would be included in the definition of landlord. It also proposes to change the definition of tenancy to include a periodic tenancy. It states: ‘tenancy’ includes a periodic...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I do not see why not. When debating the previous Residential Tenancies Bill, we highlighted many loopholes that existed. We turned out to be right and at the time we were either dismissed or promised that they would be addressed in the future. Those loopholes were subsequently exploited to the detriment of many people who were evicted or found themselves in difficulty because of loopholes...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will take on board what Deputy Ó Broin said about students and I will look at that. To use exactly the same example that I used earlier, the tenants do not know who they are dealing with, given the place has been taken over by a fund, and they do not know if the place is changing hands. One minute they are dealing with property agents or people employed by somebody who manages the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Is this amendment about registration fees?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I saw something from the Irish Council for Social Housing regarding its concern about AHBs having to pay registration fees, given that they are not for profit and are largely publicly funded, and the financial burden.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is a later one - okay.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I see the logic in having as much up-to-date information as possible about all tenancies, including those of AHBs. I understand that that is presumably the consideration of the Minister and echoed by Deputy Ó Broin. However I have very serious concerns about the administrative capacity of approved housing bodies to deal with the proposed requirements. The extra burden under the new...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As I said at the outset, the Minister has a point. However, it is indisputable that approved housing bodies, AHBs, do not have the administrative resources that are available to local authorities. I do not understand how he can say that this does not add to the administrative burden on AHBs in a situation where I would strongly argue they are already under-resourced from an administrative...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister does not know the answer.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: This abolishes substantial refurbishment or renovation as a ground for eviction, in line with our view that we need to stop all evictions for the foreseeable future, given the crisis we face. More generally, beyond this immediate crisis, we need for those who enter into the rental sector to understand that the people who rent from them have rights and require security of tenancy. We often...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will comment on the Minister's first point. His intention may have been to prevent people coming in merely to benefit from capital appreciation. That is not what is going on. It was, indeed, the justification that was cited by the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, at the time and I have heard it repeated by the Minister and others. That is not what has gone on. What has gone on...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am commenting on what the Minister said.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Why did the Chairman not pull the Minister up then?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: We are not. I am responding to what the Minister said.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am responding to what the Minister said.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (11 Apr 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am pointing out to the Minister that is not what has happened. There should be measures to deal with that fact but there are not. The people who have come in are simply looking to buy into the market, wait for property values to increase and sometimes use refurbishment as the way to drive up the value. That is what they are doing. I, again, cite the place across the road from my clinic....