Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

409. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 183 of 30 May 2024, the evidence which was adduced or collated to support his Department’s contention that restriction of no-fault evictions would negatively affect supply of rental accommodation in the medium to long term; and the ways in which the recent public consultation on the private rented sector has been used to review this position. [29334/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government agreed on 7 March 2023 that the ‘Winter Emergency Period’ under the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 would come to an end on 31 March 2023, with deferred tenancy terminations taking effect over a staggered period from 1 April to 18 June 2023 as planned and legislated for under that Act.

My Department and local authorities are focused on implementing the additional measures that I announced in March 2023 to increase the supply of social and affordable homes. The Government plans to bolster the opportunities for tenants who wish to become homeowners or remain in situ in their rental home by requiring a landlord selling a property to first offer it to the tenant. If the tenant cannot buy their rental home, a local authority, the Housing Agency or an Approved Housing Body (AHB) will have the right of refusal to purchase the dwelling with the aim of keeping the tenant in situ. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 3) Bill 2024 has been drafted as a priority, on the basis of the General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill which was approved by Government on 24 October 2023. I intend to submit the Bill to Government on 16 July for its approval to publish the Bill at the earliest juncture.

Under Housing for All, the Government is committed to increasing supply and protecting renters while trying to keep small landlords in the system. The Housing for All Action Plan Update (November 2023) includes Action 21 – Publish the review of the private rental market. My Department is currently finalising a review of the Private Rental sector which will inform Government on a number of potential policy measures which could be taken to support a well-functioning private rental sector in Ireland. I intend to bring this review to Government before the summer recess for approval to publish.

When Government decided, in March 2023, not to amend the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022, enacted the previous October, a number of issues informed that decision, included reports from industry professionals on rental market trends.

In January 2023, a Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) report outlined that its agents believe that 40% of sales instructions in Q4 2022 were from landlords selling their investment property. In addition, 8 out of 10 SCSI agents believed buy-to-let second hand rental units being sold at the time would not be replaced in the rental market in the next two years. In addition, a Sherry Fitzgerald report – Irish Residential Market Review - Q4 2022, Outlook 2023 - cited that approximately 21,000 property transactions last year involved investors selling their property, with just 7,500 of those bought by investors, involving a net loss of 13,500 from the rental stock.

The Government remains focused on securing the supply of much needed rental accommodation by keeping existing landlords in the market and attracting new landlords.