Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Today I am publishing and presenting my fourth and probably final Bill during this term. It is the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2015 and it aims to reform the terms of private renting in Ireland by addressing both the high insecurity when renting long-term homes and the financial challenges faced by landlords. It also provides an immediate community-based and people-led solution for the ongoing homelessness crisis. I acknowledge the excellent work of the National Economic Social Council and the DKM report which I consulted during the policy-making process. I also thank Mr. Mike Allen of Focus Ireland and Mr. Fintan McNamara of the Residential Landlords Association for their expert commentary during the drafting of the Bill. I especially thank my assistant, Ms Magdalene Hayden, for her work on this.

The Bill provides for three voluntary rent agreement schemes which offer better security of tenure and certainty of rent for tenants than is currently available, even with the changes made by the Government in the previous Bill. It also provides for a more favourable tax treatment for landlords who voluntarily provide better protections for their tenants. I have included three proposed tenancy schemes. The first is the home tenancy scheme which is open to all households regardless of income or rent. The second scheme is social tenancy which is available for tenants who receive rent supplement and their landlords. The third scheme is solidarity tenancy which provides the highest level of incentives for landlords who offer medium-term accommodation to households who are either homeless or refugees. It is a way to offer an immediate resolution to the homeless and refugee crises.