Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 16 and 17 are Government amendments from the Dáil. Amendment No. 16 inserts sections 10 and 11 in the Bill. Section 10 provides that a notice of termination grounded on rent arrears and served during the emergency period shall not specify a termination date earlier than 13 April 2021 and shall give 90 days’ notice, rather than the usual 28 days. The position for any tenant who made a declaration under the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act and to whom Part 3 of this Bill applies is that their termination date will also move out to 13 April 2021. That is very significant. A tenant cannot acquire Part 4 security of tenure rights as a result of the new section 10.

The new section 11 provides that no rent increase can take effect during the emergency period and no increase in rent will be payable in respect of any time during that period to 12 April 2021.

Amendment No. 17 inserts section 12 to provide for necessary technical amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which are consequential to the introduction Part 3 of this Bill.

I cannot accept amendments Nos. 18 to 24, inclusive, to the amendments.

Neither the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act nor Part 3 of this Bill interferes with the right of a landlord to serve a notice of termination. The protections that apply delay the taking effect of a relevant notice of termination grounded on rent arrears, subject to certain procedures and requirements and the usual recourse to the RTB’s dispute resolution service.

I do not propose to provide for a blanket ban on the serving of notices of termination where, for example, a tenant is paying a portion of his or her rent. Tenants are obliged to pay their rent in full and the Members will be aware that significant State supports, which we have discussed, are available to assist tenants to meet their rent payments.

I cannot accept the Senators' amendments but do accept their bona fides in trying to assist tenants. Again, every tenancy has two parties and I need to balance those rights. I also cannot accept the proposed deletion of section 10(3).

The first six months of a tenancy are very much a trial period, so to speak, for both tenants and landlords. Both parties have obligations to fulfil. The payment of rent is a key obligation of tenants. I accept that Covid-19 will make it difficult for many tenants to pay rent and the key purpose of this Bill is to help get tenants in rent arrears back on track.

It is reasonable that where a new tenant makes the required declaration under Part 3 to be protected until 12 April 2021, the six-month trial period be suspended until 13 April 2021. Tenants have had strong protections, and rightly so, during Covid-19. I hope that the vast majority of tenants, with the help of the State, will get back on track during this time to sustain their tenancy. State income support is available, if required, and tenants should seek help from the Department of Social Protection. Help is available. Rent supplement and other social welfare allowances are available, including exceptional and urgent needs payments to help in once-off rent arrears cases. The State, MABS and the RTB want to help. We in government want to help. That is what this legislation is doing.

The clock on the six-month trial period starts to tick again on 13 April 2021 and where a tenant fulfils his or her tenancy obligations, including paying rent due, they will go on to accrue Part 4 rights at the end of month six.

It would not be fair to tie in a landlord with a tenant who is not paying the rent due for another five and a half years. The State has a role to help tenants who need help. We cannot leave it to private landlords to suffer large rent arrears over an extended period. We need landlords to enter and stay in the business of renting residential property. At this time, public housing is not sufficient to house everyone who needs help. That is why we are embarking on the largest public housing building programme in the history of the State in 2021. We are addressing the public housing need issues but we need to be realistic, and we also need a functioning private rental market. We need to treat tenants and landlords fairly. We must recognise also the fact that the landlord and tenant are generally strangers to each other at the early stage of a tenancy. It is only through time that people get to know each other.

I cannotaccept amendment No. 21. The new Part 3 protections provide that no rent increase can take effect during the emergency period to 12 April 2021 and no increase in rent will be payable in respect of any time during that period. From 13 April 2021 onwards, a rent increase can take effect. We are also starting the job of looking at the rent pressure zones, RPZs. That is something I expect to be coming back to the House on at some stage in the new year. It is possible that a tenant with Covid-19-related rent arrears, and at risk of losing their tenancy, has had their amount of rent payable maintained at the same level since before 27 March 2020.

Collectively, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 and Part 3 of this Bill protect a relevant tenant from any rent increase for a total of almost 13 months. If we compare that with other jurisdictions, our protections are robust and stand up extremely well to any fair scrutiny.

It is worth remembering the demographic of landlords. We need to maintain a good supply of quality rental accommodation. Most will say they agree with that but we have to show that in practice. I do not want to reduce the available housing stock. That is the reason any legislation we bring forward has to be proportionate.

In line with the advices of the Office of the Attorney General, the Government seeks to limit as much as possible any interference with the protected property rights.

I cannot accept amendments Nos. 22 or 23 to the new section 14. It is essential that the tenant declaration is served on the landlord to ensure that he or she is aware that the tenant intends to avail of the protections under Part 3. The declaration may be channelled to the landlord via his or her authorised agent. It does not have to go directly to him or her. It is important for the tenant to keep a record of having served the declaration, in the event of a dispute arising.

Section 12(1)(f) of the Residential Tenancies Act obliges a landlord to provide to the tenant particulars of the means by which the tenant may, at all reasonable times, contact him or her or his or her authorised agent. Any tenant has the right of access to the contact details of the landlord or the landlord's agent.I cannot foresee that arising. The Government will not be deleting section 16 from this Bill. I am not sure whether the House agrees that the public health risks presented by Covid-19 are still present. Section 16 provides that RTB tenancy tribunals are not required to be held in public during the period to 12 April 2021. This provision aims to safeguard the health and safety of participants in those tribunals and of RTB staff given the current public health circumstances. Section 16 of the Bill amends section 106 of the Residential Tenancies Act. The amendment is modelled on a number of similar provisions, including provisions under the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020. The RTB is a statutory body and it is appropriate for it to safeguard the health and safety of the participants and staff engaged in tenancy tribunals. I am certain that all of us would want that to be the case. I cannot imagine why people would not. The proposed section 16 of the Bill does not prohibit tribunals from taking place but removes the requirement that they must be held in public. It makes sense.