Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank him for coming here to discuss the Bill. The Labour Party will support the Bill, although it is very limited in its scope. We recently published our own Bill, the Social and Affordable Housing Bill 2016, which goes far beyond what is in the Bill we are discussing. However, the provisions of the Bill are encompassed in our Bill, and we will support it.

Our Bill, published by Deputy Willie Penrose, seeks to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. It provides a proper definition of "landlord" and prohibits landlords from refusing to allow tenants to stay beyond the sale period of a house. It also provides that the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, would be the agency that provides rental guidelines based on the consumer price index, CPI, and geographical guidelines across the country. It also provides that rents would be reviewed on a 12-monthly basis and that rent issues would be dealt with by the PRTB. It would prevent vacant tenancy as a result of the sale of a house which, as mentioned by Senator Kelleher, is commonplace across Europe. We are one of the few European countries in which the mention of a sale by a landlord can result in a vacant tenancy.

Our Bill also seeks to change the role and scope of NAMA and change its name, on a transition day, to the national housing development and finance agency. NAMA, which has done a very good job, except on one or two matters, would have a new focus. The focus in our Bill for NAMA would be to address the shortage in supply of houses for sale and for rent and to ensure a stable and functioning accommodation market. Our Bill also proposes to change tax laws to assist landlords who cannot write off interest on money borrowed for the development and upgrade of housing against their profits. They should be allowed to do it. As previous speakers said, unless we have people prepared to invest in the market, we do not have a market and we have a narrowing of the base of houses.

Our Bill also seeks to reduce the VAT rate applied to materials from 13.5% to 9% to allow for materials for the provision, construction, renovation and alteration of houses to be assessed and charged at 9%. We also want to bring forward a vacant site levy to amend the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 to bring forward the levy to 2017. This would further encourage the use of vacant land which, as has been said, is lying idle while thousands of people wait on housing lists.

The Kenny report of 1973, which has lain on the shelves since then, is adopted in our Bill, with one or two modifications. The issue is constantly being debated as being unconstitutional. In 2004, an all-party Oireachtas committee examined the Kenny report and deemed it constitutionally sound. The vacant land across the country would be compulsorily purchased at 125% of its market value. Vendors would receive 25% on top of the market value. This would free much of the land and would put a fire under those who are sitting on land across the country to sell it. While the Bill may have difficulties, they are not insurmountable. It needs the will of all parties in the House to support it and start the process of linking rents to the CPI.