Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Darragh O'Brien that a wide-ranging debate on the entire issue of housing would be in order. I agree that we should not just focus on homelessness but also on supply, which is very problematic in the market at present. I have concerns with regard to Longboat Quay. The owners are now threatening legal action. It has come to my attention that while there are owner-occupiers at Longboat Quay, there are also people who rent rather than own the properties in which they live. Under our current legal code, renters have very little voice and very little right to be heard. Under the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011, tenants have no right of representation on management companies but the actions taken probably have more impact on renters. More apartments in these developments are actually rented than lived in by owner-occupiers so it is quite ironic that they have so little voice.

The same is true in the area of receivership. I have personally dealt with a significant number of cases in the recent past where properties have been repossessed by lending institutions and the first thing the tenant knows about it is when the receiver comes to the door and tells them they will have to leave. Receivers want vacant possession and want the tenants out. There is no code of conduct to protect tenants in those situations. It is time we started treating renters with respect. Rented homes are homes and it is wrong to give so little voice to the tenants who live in them. Can the Leader propose that the Minister for Justice and Equality amend the Multi-Unit Developments Act in order that we might ensure tenants are given a voice? Can he also tell the Minister for Finance that we need a code of conduct relating to mortgage arrears relating to rented properties? Those houses are homes and it is not right to treat their tenants as though they were disposable.