Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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572. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to update tenancy law in order to provide greater protection to tenants by ensuring better security of tenure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2793/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants relating to, inter alia, security of tenure and the termination of tenancies. The 2004 Act represented the most significant legislative reform in the private rented sector in over a century. Prior to this there was little or no security of tenure for tenants and in most tenancies the landlord had a virtually absolute right to terminate the tenancy subject to only 28 days' notice.

Security of tenure under the 2004 Act is based on rolling four-year tenancy cycles. Where a tenant has been in occupation of a dwelling for a continuous period of 6 months and no notice of termination has been served in respect of that tenancy before the expiry of the period of 6 months, the tenancy is established for the remainder of the four year period. This is referred to in the Act as a ‘Part 4’ tenancy. Landlords and tenants may not contract out of any of the provisions of Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act and no lease, tenancy agreement, contract or other agreement may operate to vary or modify the provisions of Part 4 of the Act.

Where a Part 4 tenancy lasts for four years without a notice of termination being served by the landlord or the tenant, a further Part 4 tenancy comes into being and this will continue on at the expiration of each further four year period unless the tenancy is validly terminated by either the landlord or the tenant on one of the grounds under the Act.

A landlord may not serve a notice of termination except in very clearly defined circumstances such as a failure by the tenant to comply with his or her obligations in relation to the tenancy. Notice periods for the termination of a tenancy by the landlord vary depending on the duration of the tenancy but periods of up to 112 days are provided for under the Act. Where there is a dispute regarding the appropriate period of notice to be given in respect of a tenancy or the validity of a notice of termination, or where the tenant does not comply with the notice of termination, the dispute may be referred to the Private Residential Tenancies Board for resolution.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012 is currently before the Oireachtas and will amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide, inter alia, for repeal of section 42 of the 2004 Act which allows a landlord to terminate a further Part 4 tenancy within the first six months of that tenancy for no stated ground. The Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil, together with Second Stage in the Seanad.