Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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171. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if further protection will be put in place to protect tenants who are renting houses owned by vulture funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38229/16]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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172. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the protection from eviction rental accommodation tenants who are living in houses owned by vulture funds have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38231/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 171 and 172 together.

The Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended by the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015, regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.

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.

A landlord may not terminate a Part 4 tenancy 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 224 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, the dispute may be referred to the RTB for resolution.

While the circumstances of each case may vary depending on the terms of the mortgage or charge under which a receiver is appointed, the appointment of a receiver does not affect the statutory or contractual rights of tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act. However, the appointment of a receiver to a dwelling can cause confusion and distress to tenants and in circumstances where a receiver is appointed to a rented dwelling, it is essential that the rights of tenants are protected.

The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness commits to developing a real and meaningful strategy for the rental sector. The strategy will provide a vision of the role that the rental sector will play in the short, medium and long term, in the context of the Government’s objectives for the housing sector overall, as set out in Rebuilding Ireland. It will examine a range of matters aimed at improving security, including the position of tenancies during receivership. However, the interplay between receivership law and the Residential Tenancies Act is complex and it is important that changes are not made to legislation that either make matters worse or lead to legal uncertainty. The fundamental objective of any amendments made must be that tenants’ rights are protected and that clear and correct information is available to any tenant affected.

Some legislative changes are being accelerated for early enactment in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016 which is currently before the Oireachtas.The Bill includes measures to prevent a future recurrence of situations where large numbers of residents in a single development are simultaneously served with termination notices to facilitate vacant possession and sale of the property. These are accompanied by a number of other early actions to enhance the Residential Tenancies Board’s (RTB) enforcement and dispute resolution powers. Tenants and landlords alike will therefore see a number of improvements as a result of these legislative changes.