Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Acting Chairperson and all of the Senators for facilitating debates under this very urgent legislation in Seanad Éireann before the Easter recess. I also record my thanks to the Chief Whip and to members of both the Business Committee and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for enabling the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 to be read a Second Time here today.

The Bill is a timely and proportionate response to the continued elevated threat and impact of the pandemic. The time-sensitive nature of the Bill is an inevitable consequence of the constant reassessment of the pandemic and its evolving nature. I thank Senators for facilitating its passage in the same co-operative spirit that has enabled similar Bills to pass swiftly since the Covid-19 crisis erupted.

This is the fourth Bill the Government has brought forward since coming into office to protect tenants during this pandemic. The virus has mutated and challenged us in different ways but we have responded to ensure the vulnerable are shielded from the unprecedented economic fallout. Today's Bill is a further important action to safeguard tenants in the face of an ever-threatening pandemic.

In light of this prolonged challenge, I ask Senators to pass the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 to enable its early enactment to provide technical amendments to the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 to extend the application of its enhanced tenancy protections for a further three months from 13 April to 12 July 2021. The Bill also provides for technical amendments to enhance the interoperability of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 and the Residential Tenancies Act 2020. Subject to the conditions and procedural requirements, the former Act currently protects tenants in rent arrears due to Covid-19 and at risk of losing their tenancy from eviction and rent increases during the period from 11 January to 12 April 2021. It is considered that the ongoing threats and impacts of the third wave of Covid-19 necessitate this Bill to extend the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act's protections for a further three months until 12 July 2021. The three-month extension is a proportionate response, balancing constitutional property rights and the common good. While the numbers directly invoking this legal protection have been small, it has provided a strong safety net to vulnerable renters and sends a clear signal to the rental system that the State will protect tenants. In this context and because of strong direct financial supports, we have prevented huge turmoil in the rental system.

It is important to note that these protections are separate and distinct from the Residential Tenancies Act 2020, which provides for a moratorium on evictions taking place, with limited exceptions, during a period of 5 km travel restrictions in an area specified in regulations made by the Minister for Health and during the ten days following the lifting of such restrictions. In broad terms, the protections are on separate economic and health grounds, respectively. This Bill seeks to clarify that a 5 km travel restriction does not affect the legal obligation on a tenant to pay rent. Instead, tenants in circumstances where they cannot pay their rent due to the pandemic can avail of the separate protections under this Bill.

This clarification is required as the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act already provides the necessary tenancy protections for any tenant in rent arrears due to Covid-19 and at risk of losing their tenancy. The Bill removes this duplication and potential confusion around obligations to pay rent. Importantly, significant and enhanced State income supports are available from the Department of Social Protection. I encourage any tenant who needs assistance to reach out early to the Money Advice & Budgeting Service and to seek every available State income support. For example, the enhanced illness benefit for Covid-19, the pandemic unemployment payment, rent supplement and supplementary welfare allowances can assist tenants to meet their legal obligation to pay rent.I also encourage landlords to show forbearance and to afford tenants the time to stabilise their income through State support, if necessary. It is in the interests of both parties to sustain a viable tenancy. Overall, the State has spent some €11.5 billion on Covid-19 welfare supports. We have not, and will not, be found wanting in supporting any tenants in difficulty.

At this point, the earliest possible expiry date for the current moratorium on evictions across the State under the Residential Tenancies Act 2020 is 15 April 2021, that is, ten days after the review date for the expiry of the 5 km travel restrictions. The Government will consider this matter in light of public health advice over the coming days. Regardless of that decision, this Bill will ensure protections are in place until 12 July for tenants economically impacted by the pandemic. The Government recognises that lockdowns are especially difficult for some people and that low-income tenants are disproportionately employed in sectors that are severely affected by Covid-19, such as hospitality and retail.

As I have said, the State is here to help and we will continue to provide immediate income support to families and individuals in private rented accommodation through the Department of Social Protection’s rent supplement scheme. The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.

The scheme ensures that renters experiencing a temporary loss of employment can continue to meet their rental commitments. The aim is to avoid any tenant going into rent arrears. That said, the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 complements and supports the provision of rent supplement and other State supports by providing time and security for tenants while engaging with available State services in a bid to resolve their financial difficulty and meet their obligation to pay rent.

The Government also recognises that 70% of landlords own just one rental property, that 86% of landlords own just one or two rental properties and that Covid-19 has given rise to financial difficulty for some landlords. The 2020 Act provides the requisite balance between the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords in a carefully calibrated manner, recognising the legitimate interests of both. This strikes an equilibrium between property rights and the common good in the midst of a pandemic.

We have to continue to address the economic and social consequences of Covid-19, protect as many jobs as possible and ensure that families and businesses can manage financially. The economic consequences of Covid-19 are far-reaching but the hit for certain sectors and some tenants has been extremely challenging. The emergency measures introduced by this Government have prevented systematic problems in the rental sector. The rental measures proposed under this Bill will help further.

I will now outline the provisions of this urgent Bill. The Long Title and recitals of the Bill describe our policy aims and the policy context in which the limited restrictions on landlords' constitutionally protected property rights will serve the social common good for three more months to 12 July 2021. The Bill is technical in nature and contains just three sections, with section 3 being a standard provision outlining the Short Title and collective citation of the Bill. Sections 1 and 2 are the substantive provisions in the Bill and I have already given a good flavour of their intent.

Section 1 provides for a number of amendments to the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 by updating various dates to reflect the extension of the "emergency period" defined in the 2020 Act to 12 July 2021 under this Bill. The proposed amendments to the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 provide for its enhanced tenancy protections to continue to apply from 13 April 2021 to 12 July 2021, subject to conditions and procedural requirements under that Act, where tenants have been economically impacted by Covid-19 and, consequently, are unable to meet their obligation to pay rent, thereby risking tenancy termination.

Section 1(a) extends the expiry date of the "emergency period" within the meaning of section 9(1) of the 2020 Act from 12 April 2021 to 12 July 2021. During this period, enhanced tenancy protections apply for tenants in arrears, subject to conditions and procedural requirements. Sections 1(b) to 1(d) provide consequential amendments throughout the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 to reflect this extended emergency period.Section 1(e) will provide a technical amendment to section 16 of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 to provide that RTB tenancy tribunals need not be held in public until 12 July 2021. The aim is to continue the protection of the health and safety of participants in the proceedings and of RTB staff during the Covid-19 emergency period.

Section 2 will amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2020 to enhance its interoperability with the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020. Clarification is provided that the 5 km travel restriction does not affect the legal obligation on a tenant to pay rent. The legal obligation on a tenant to pay rent under section 16(a) of the Residential Tenancies Acts is a key protection for landlords who take the business risk of providing residential rental accommodation. The Bill clarifies that, similar to cases where tenants engage in anti-social behaviour, a landlord is not required to accommodate a tenant in breach of his or her obligation to pay rent and can proceed with a tenancy termination in accordance with the usual procedures. Tenants in rent arrears can, of course, make the necessary declaration to seek the enhanced protections under the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020. The Residential Tenancies Board is available to assist tenants in rent arrears to seek assistance from the Money Advice & Budgeting Service to avail of State income supports from the Department of Social Protection. Rent increases and tenancy terminations will be prohibited for tenants who are protected by the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 until 12 July if the Bill is enacted.

The Bill is being introduced against the backdrop of the worst public health crisis in the history of the State and an economic collapse without comparison. I understand the anguish and frustration that citizens have experienced over these long months. As the evenings lengthen, however, and the vaccines are rolled out, we can look forward to brighter days if we stay the course. Until that time, the Government will do whatever it takes to protect the State and our citizens from the worst impact of the pandemic. None of us could have foreseen the fatal trajectory of Covid-19 on our island and globally when we debated the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 in early December. As legislators, we need to continue to work together to react quickly to suppress the spread of Covid-19. Sadly, the virus has been at its most deadly since our previous debates. The Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 protects both tenants and landlords. The Government wants these protections in place for longer to respond to the continued impact of the pandemic.

I commend the Bill to the House and ask Senators for their support to help tenants stay in their homes.