Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. Students have faced a litany of challenges over the past year as they have had to adapt to learning away from their friends and peers. Many of them have continued to work throughout the pandemic on the front line in retail, as student nurses and doctors or as apprentices on building sites. On top of all these stresses students have been faced with a number of accommodation challenges. It is simply not good enough that students and their parents have been put into positions where they have been expected to pay up to nine months' rent in some cases in advance of taking up accommodation. On top of this, the notice periods they have been expected to provide in the midst of what is the biggest national health emergency in the history of the State beggar belief. I am therefore happy to see these two significant issues addressed by this Bill. With that, I thank the USI for the work it has done in ensuring that these provisions have been brought forward today. They protect not only students but also the larger renting public. I also commend the Minister on fast-tracking these amendments to ensure they can be put into place ahead of the next academic year.

While I welcome these two amendments, which it is to be hoped will begin a process of levelling the playing field, student accommodation remains a constant and significant financial strain on many. As students begin to return to on-campus classes, this strain is set only to grow. Much like Senator Martin, I have concerns about, for instance, the so-called opt-out amendment, although I am sure I am not adopting core Green policy by quoting Senator Martin in my contributions. I recognise that certain student-specific accommodation bodies offer packages to international students which would mean paying more than the new regulations' cap of a deposit and a month's rent in advance. As alluded to by housing charity Threshold, however, we have been shown time and time again over recent years how unscrupulous these landlords can be. In this sense I fear that if the opt-out provision were to remain within the Act, it would be far too broad and could be subject to abuse by landlords looking to exploit a loophole in what is fundamentally strong legislation for student renters. I am also fearful the opt-out amendment could potentially open up the door to students being charged management fees or top-up payments in lieu of deposits. In this regard it is important to stress the importance of the language used within the Act, and I am disappointed not to see a legal definition of what constitutes a deposit. I hope to see this amended to ensure the envisioned protections have the weight of legal surety behind them.

I suggest that the Government explore further protections for student renters, such as placing restrictions on rent increases for student-specific accommodation or putting in place provisions whereby rent can be increased only by a set amount for the duration of a student's course enrolment. For example, rent might be increased only by 2% or 3% over the course of a student's three- or four-year studies. These protections would go a long way in offering students peace of mind and the security they deserve, allowing them to focus on their education and plan ahead for their futures. Speaking more broadly, the practice of landlords demanding multiple months' rent, which this legislation looks to restrict, is inherently discriminatory against those on lower incomes and the working class who rely on social housing support to pay those deposits. Even with the new provisions restricting landlords to requesting a deposit worth a month's rent, plus a month's rent, there are many families across Ireland who struggle to overcome this financial barrier. These are vulnerable families that face a massive power imbalance between themselves and landlords. This power imbalance leaves these families vulnerable to landlords looking to circumvent the legislation by demanding charges such as management fees and top-up fees. The Government needs to ensure that these families are protected and that a communication campaign is in place informing them of their rights under this new legislation.

The financial barrier renters face is one which we have seen grow over the past number of years, with rents almost doubling in the past decade alone. I call on the Minister and the Government to commit to ensuring that financial protections and rent allowances are put into place to allow working class families to clear this financial barrier and access the housing market. Renters need, and deserve, surety in order to allow them to plan ahead.

Turning to the deposit itself, I refer to the lack of protection afforded to renters. The latest homelessness data available from the Department found that there were 925 homeless families living in emergency accommodation in the State in April. More than half of these were single-parent families. Many families rely on recouping the deposit paid for a property in order to put down the deposit on their next home. However, time and again renters have been faced with situations where they have been unable to recoup the deposit which they have paid and are relying on to move. Essentially, this leaves many families in limbo and, effectively, homeless as they struggle to pay down the deposit on their next home due to them not being able to recover the deposit from their previous landlords.

A provision for a deposit protection scheme managed by the Rental Tenancies Board was included in section 61 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2015. However, this section has yet to be commenced, and awaits a commencement order under section 1(4) of the same Act. A similar deposit protection scheme has been effectively used in Scotland and has led to the protection of renters within the Scottish market. The scheme would see the deposit held by a third party, and should the return of the deposit come into dispute an independent assessor can be sent to the property to check whether the deposit should or should not be returned to the renter. Such a scheme, if implemented, would remove much of the anxiety faced by renters as they seek the return of their deposit, a deposit which represents more than just money, but peace of mind and a chance to move forward with their lives.

I welcome the Government's Bill, which will put in place the first much-needed protections for student renters. I encourage the Government to use this as a starting point to go on and work with the USI and student representatives to explore further protections with regard to accommodation. I also take this opportunity to urge the Government to move forward with the rental deposit scheme offered in the Residential Tenancies Act 2015, which has the potential to not only offer renters peace of mind but to stop the limbo between properties which opens the trapdoor of homelessness for so many vulnerable families.