Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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247. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the options available to a landlord in a situation where a tenant who refuses to pay or in any way cooperate with the landlord, who has afforded him/her every opportunity to improve his housing situation, given that a particular landlord may suffer as a result of the refusal of the tenant to cooperate; whether homeless accommodation might be made available to such a tenant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46033/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as a quasi-judicial, independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2024 (the RTA) to facilitate the resolution of residential tenancy disputes and operate a national tenancy registration system. A dispute may be referred to the RTB under Part 6 of the RTA - please see www.rtb.ie for information on the RTB's dispute resolution service.

Section 67 of the RTA provides the required procedures and notice periods for a landlord to terminate, for any reason, a non Part 4 tenancy (i.e. a tenancy that not existed for six continuous months, without a valid notice of termination having been served) and for where the landlord wishes to terminate any tenancy by reason of the failure of the tenant to comply with any of the obligations of the tenancy; for example, by not paying the rent or engaging in anti-social behaviour.

Section 34 of the RTA provides that a landlord must state a reason for the termination in any notice of termination (NoT) served in respect of a ‘Part 4 tenancy’ and section 66 of the RTA provides for the minimum termination notice periods to terminate a Part 4 tenancy where there is no breach of tenancy obligations. An NoT in respect of a Part 4 tenancy will not be valid unless it is served on one or more of the following stated reasons/grounds:

• the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations (other than the obligation to pay rent) of the tenancy;
• the tenant has failed to comply with the obligation to pay rent under the tenancy;
• the dwelling is no longer suited to the needs of the occupying household;
• the landlord intends to sell the dwelling within the next 9 months;
• the landlord requires the dwelling for own or family member occupation;
• vacant possession is required for substantial refurbishment of the dwelling;
• the landlord intends to change the use of the dwelling.

Upon receipt of a rent arrears warning notice, the RTA requires the RTB to provide information to enable the tenant to get advice from the Money and Budgeting Advice Service (MABS), and to help the tenant to get such advice, if the tenant so wishes. The RTB is also required to provide tenancy information to both the tenant and the landlord upon receipt of a notice of termination grounded on rent arrears. The objective is to ensure that early action is taken to address rent arrears, to the benefit of both the tenant and the landlord.

Tenants are required to observe the normal terms and conditions of their lease/tenancy agreement including paying rent to their landlord and, in the event of tenants having difficulty doing so, they are encouraged to engage with their landlords at the earliest opportunity. They should also engage with the MABS and the Department of Social Protection as income supports, such as Rent Supplement, may be available to assist them.

When landlords, tenants and third parties bring disputes to the RTB through mediation, adjudication or tribunal, they receive a legally binding Determination Order, which, if not complied with, can be enforced through the District Court. The RTB prioritises cases involving rent arrears. The operation of the RTA and the residential rental market is kept under constant review by my Department to ensure that the legislation is fit for purpose.

My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities.

Under the Housing Act 1988, it is a matter for each local authority to determine whether a person is regarded as homeless; section 2 of the Act sets out the requirements in this regard. When a household has been assessed as homeless, section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 provides that a local authority may provide accommodation and related services to that household.