Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have not yet finished.

Amendment No. 4 is related. It refers to removing the references to occupation of the property owner's family members as the basis for a notice to quit.The Minister mentioned on Committee Stage that the purposes for its retention is that if a landlord has a family member who has fallen on hard times, he or she may be able to assist the family member with this property. Having thought about it after the last debate we had, I still do not agree with that. It is insufficient to allow for what is the current situation and what is a constant occurrence in the market as its stands. What we did not discuss is the fact that many landlords make the decision based not on assisting a vulnerable family member but on availing of tax incentives that having a family member in situbrings when renting other rooms. In a four-bedroom house where one room is occupied by a family member, the three remaining rooms would be far more profitable than had all four rooms been rented to non-family members due to the tax incentives for such a scenario. A situation where landlords end tenancies to do this are far more prevalent than the Minister has described, and I suspect the RTB has made him aware of this. While nobody has an issue with family members availing of property in this way, the issue arises when the tenancy is ended somewhat prematurely for the landlord's financial benefit as opposed to its natural end when a family member may move in.

Amendment No. 5 extends notices to quit to 90 days for tenancies of six months or less. While the Minister was correct when he said that lease agreements must be adhered to before a notice to quit is given, in instances where tenants are subject to a six-month lease or a periodic tenancy, the landlord may end the tenancy at any time during the first six months without having to give a reason. While circumstances change or sometimes tenancies simply do not work out, 28 days for a family to find alternative options is not good enough and is unfair given the realities of the rental crisis and the lack of affordable options. It is not reasonable to ask a family that has found accommodation in a suitable area that may be close to the children's school or the extended family who then find themselves issued with a notice to quit, to find another affordable option within that locality within four weeks. Last week, we discussed about how daft.iereported there were just 2,700 homes available to rent across the State on 1 May, which is the lowest recorded since daft.iestarted to compile these statistics in 2006.That has filtered down to what may be local and affordable accommodation. The reality is that options are often not readily available in 28 days and this has contributed to homelessness. I do not believe such provision is unreasonable to expect from landlords.