Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome the amendment and agree with it in principle, I believe the Fianna Fáil amendment is slightly stronger. The Bill does not address the issues raised by the Tyrellstown case, namely, that receivers and lenders are not considered landlords under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. Lenders or receivers may seek to evict a tenant without giving the notice required under law. This amendment provides that where a bank or vulture fund appoints a receiver over a rented property, it should be required to take on all the responsibilities of a landlord. This is crucial as it means receivers would have exactly the same obligations to existing tenants as landlords with regard to Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act. This includes its provisions relating to the security of a tenant, the maintenance and upkeep of rented properties, notice to quit provisions etc.

The amendment also seeks to address the position of tenants whose landlords are in receivership and remain solely and fully responsible for returning the tenants' deposits, even though they are in receivership. The amendment also imposes an obligation on the receiver to return a tenant's deposit in full. This is an important provision.