Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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59. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if legislation to outlaw so-called renovictions (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19839/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Security of tenure provisions under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016 apply once a tenant has been in occupation of a dwelling for a continuous period of 6 months, with no notice of termination having been served during that time. On completion of the 6-month occupation, the tenant is entitled to specific protections under the Residential Tenancies Act as long as the tenant complies with their own obligations. One of the protections relates to the tenant’s entitlement to remain in occupation for up to 4 years from the commencement of the tenancy, where the tenancy commenced prior to 24 December 2016, and for up to 6 years, where the tenancy commenced on or after 24 December 2016.

Section 34 of the 2004 Act provides that a landlord must state a reason for the termination of a tenancy in any notice served.

It is important to note that, where a tenancy is terminated for the purposes of substantial refurbishment or renovation, if the property is complete and available for re-let within 6 months of the termination, it must be offered for letting back to the original tenant.

The landlord must confirm that the existing or current tenant has the option of commencing a new tenancy in the refurbished or renovated dwelling, if it becomes available within 6 months from the end of the notice period given (or if there is an RTB dispute on the validity of the notice, within 6 months of the end of that dispute). The duty to offer a new tenancy arises where the tenant has provided contact details.

Where a tenant considers that their tenancy may have been terminated under false pretences, such as, for example, where the reason cited is that the landlord intends to substantially refurbish/renovate, yet the tenant sees the dwelling subsequently advertised for letting with no obvious works having been completed, or is not offered first refusal of the rented dwelling within 6 months of the termination having supplied up-to-date contact details, they can take a case to the RTB. Section 56 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides for the award of damages for abuse of the termination procedure, and the RTB can make a direction that a landlord pay an amount by way of damages for the deprivation of the tenancy and/or may make a direction that the tenant be permitted to resume occupation of the premises.

On 23 November 2017, the RTB published a comprehensive set of guidelines on what constitutes substantial refurbishment or renovation for the purposes of a section 34 ground for tenancy termination. The guidelines are available on the RTB website at the following link: .

I have asked my Department to keep under review whether there is merit in placing these guidelines on a statutory footing.