Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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70. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to support renters in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22613/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to ensuring that affordable, quality housing solutions are available to everyone in Irish society and supporting renters is a key component of that. The Affordable Housing Bill 2020 will ensure that affordability is put at the heart of the housing system and will underpin the new local authority led scheme of affordable homes for purchase, an Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme (private lands) and, for renters in Meath and all over Ireland, the introduction of a new national Cost Rental scheme.

This year will also see the first ever cost rental units, more than 400 units, built and occupied in the State. Cost rental is targeted at moderate income households where the rent charged only covers the cost of provision of homes. The Land Development Agency will be put on a statutory footing and given capital to ramp up cost rental provision to the scale needed in counties such as Meath.

The Government has, and continues to, put in place enhanced legislative protections for renters during the pandemic. There are targeted protections for renters with evictions bans in place during periods of restricted movement and protections for renters whose income has been impacted by the pandemic.

Building on the urgent Covid-19 rental measures to date, the Government has extended the targeted protections for those tenants whose income has been impacted by Covid-19 from 12 April to 12 July.

Low-income tenants are disproportionately employed in sectors that have been severely affected by Covid-19 restrictions. Significant State income supports are available to assist tenants to pay their rent including changes to the rent supplement eligibility rules for tenants whose income has been reduced because of Covid-19.

For any tenants impacted by rent arrears, my Department has published a guidance document, Part 3 (Residential Tenancies) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 - Guidance for Landlords and Tenants, which sets out the new rental protections for tenants and landlords dealing with rent arrears that succeed those provided under the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020, and provides details on the income and other supports available to tenants and landlords. The document is available on the RTB's website.

The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supply.

All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.

In terms of supports for the Rental Sector, on 1 July 2019, the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act expanded the role of the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in certain breaches of the law, defined in the Act as Improper Conduct. This brought about a fundamental change in the operation of the RTB by expanding its regulatory remit.

The breaches of rental law that the Investigations & Sanctions (I&S) unit can investigate include; failure to comply with RPZ requirements; failure to register a tenancy; a reason given on a notice of termination that is known to be false or misleading; and failure to offer a tenant their tenancy back when certain conditions have been met. The RTB also has the power to apply sanctions if breaches are found to have occurred, ranging from a formal written caution and/or a fine of up to €15,000 and/or costs up to €15,000.

The RTB has a dedicated I&S Unit with staff who have a collective experience in conducting civil and criminal investigations in other regulatory and enforcement bodies as well as significant internal knowledge of the RTB and the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Programme for Government - 'Our Shared Future', commits to improve the security of tenure for tenants, through legislating for tenancies of indefinite duration, increasing Residential Tenancies Board enforcement and examining incentives for long-term leasing.

Proposals for further amendments to the Residential Tenancies Acts are currently being developed, for inclusion in the General Scheme of the Housing and Residential Tenancies Bill which is expected to be submitted for Government approval in the coming months for approval to proceed to legal drafting. It is expected that the Bill will be enacted by the end of 2021. Long-term letting rights for tenants are being considered in this context.