Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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123. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will consider immediately introducing a moratorium on evictions leading to homelessness for the duration of the housing crisis as recommended by organisations (details supplied). [39017/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, 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. Security of tenure under the 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 on clearly defined grounds which are set out in the Table to section 34 of the Act. These grounds include that the landlord intends to sell the dwelling, that the landlord wishes to change the use of the dwelling, and that the landlord requires the dwelling for a family member.

Amendments introduced in the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 strengthen the protections around tenancy terminations by providing for measures that will guard against, for example, landlords falsely declaring that the property is needed for a family member, or that it is going to be sold. In addition, the Act provides for graduated increases in the notice periods that must be given to tenants of the termination of a tenancy so that a landlord must now give a tenant up to a maximum of 224 days’ notice for tenancies of 8 years or more.

The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016 has completed all stages in the Seanad and second stage is scheduled to resume in the Dáil on 7 December 2016. It is expected that the Bill will be enacted by the end of the year. The Bill includes two significant provisions in relation to security of tenure. Section 30 contains a provision to deal with terminations in very specific circumstances, that is, where a number of tenants in a single development are served with termination notices at the same time. In addition, section 31 of the Bill provides for the repeal of section 42 of the Act of 2004, thereby extinguishing the landlord’s right to terminate a further Part 4 tenancy in the first 6 months of that tenancy for no stated ground.

It is acknowledged that the number of families and individuals currently entering homeless services is unacceptable and that the period of time spent in emergency accommodation should be minimised for those that do enter homeless services. Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness , provides for early solutions to address the unacceptable levels of homelessness, including the commitment that, by mid-2017, ommercial hotels will only be used in limited circumstances for emergency accommodation for families.  The Action Plan outlines that the housing needs of homeless households will be met through the enhanced Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme and general housing allocations, and by providing new supply to be delivered through an expanded Rapid Delivery Housing Programme and a Housing Agency initiative to acquire vacant houses.

Pillar 4 of the Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness commits to developing a comprehensive strategy for the rental sector. The strategy will include measures to address immediate issues affecting the supply, cost and accessibility of accommodation. In addition, the strategy will consider measures to increase security of tenure and, in particular, the potential of new mechanisms for both setting and reviewing rents. There will also be a focus on maintaining existing levels of rental stock and encouraging investment in additional supply. It is expected that the Strategy will be published before the end of the year.