Danny Healy-Rae warns rent changes lead to mass notices

I hear that that's what I intend to do and I suppose the overhaul of the residential tenancies legislation which was intended to protect the tenants with the changes to rent controls and expansion of tenant protections. However it is very clear to me that since the residential tenancies amendment act 2025 updates in June 2025 with the intention of stabilising rent prices it has created a bigger problem as many tenants have been given notice to quit and it's getting completely out of hand. I've been contacted day by day by tenants who've got notices to quit and they're wondering where they're going to go and it's very clear to me that landlords are getting out one way or another because they're not prepared to sign up for six months or for six years in total from March on and they're getting out before then. Indeed I have been contacted by so many people and and it seems that some small landlords are getting out of the market completely as they don't want to be locked into a rental for six years and others are using this opportunity to renovate their properties and to get new tenants at a higher rental rate after March. I've already been in contact with the minister regarding the 14 families in the housing estate in Killarney Loretto Chapel Estate who have received notice to quit from the property owner the separate property company Exerico Limited who owns the 14 houses in the state and I've asked him what can be done for these families because it's very clear these people are getting out before the March deadline and this ring controls or whatever is having an adverse effect and I'm saying to minister supply will drop with these ring controls tenants can move if you if you have been living in Tralee and you want to move to Killarney Killarney they won't be able to get houses in Killarney then or vice versa and you see you'll shrink the landlord market that's what that's what's happening now we're shrinking when we should be increasing it going back last year and the year before I raised the issue so many vacant properties where homeowners and landlords won't rent them because two reasons the amount of tax they would have to pay more than 50 percent tax and and the other reason they're afraid they can't get tenants out when they when when they want to get back their house those are the two things I gave an instance of 55 houses between Kilmer Kilgarden and 10 miles down the road to Killarney and they're there on the side of the road you can step onto a bus from each and every one of them but the owners won't rent them because of the two reasons that I have given something you should have been doing something about that rather than trying to ill condense the supply now and shrink it and we won't have we we won't have houses for all the people because there is a an amount of people that who would build a house if they could get planning permission in Kerry and they can't there's an amount of people who would buy a house for themselves but they can't because the prices are too exorbitant so they are confined to renting from the private market we do need the private market as well as the public as public housing and and social housing so and you see they can't get on the social housing list because of the ring cap or the income cap of 37 000 euros because if they exceed that they won't be left on the housing list you see if if a household owner owns a house i say to you minister it's their divine right to do what they want to do with it besides trying to make them do something they don't want to do and the government won't exceed succeed in this and i'm saying here minister the housing officials and the department of housing that came up with this idea that they didn't do any good for for the tenants in the first place or would be tenants that do no good for the government because this is going is throwing the government down in the ratings and i know that because people are fed up they can they can't rent houses and and um and and we're shrinking the market now and we'll have a way a way less houses for for to go around so look my turn uh thank you uh last can and thank you deputy for raising this important issue i'm taking this topical issue on behalf of the department of housing and the minister and minister james brown can i say first of all that on the 10th of june 2025 the government approved policy measures including modifications to rent controls to come into effect on the 1st of march 2026 as you have outlined the the purpose is to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent and at the same time keep existing landlords in the market the changes agreed will also provide significantly stronger tenancy protections but they are finally balanced between the interests of tenants and the need for further private investment in the rental market across the country which you have acknowledged yourself deputy the modifications to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the housing agency review of the rent pressure zones and the potential policy options and its preferred recommendations to modify the operation of the existing rent pressure zone rent controls today the government approved the general scheme of the residential tenancies amendment number two bill 2025 as the basis for priority legal drafting to commence to commence to bring in new rental changes from march in general after six months a landlord may only serve a notice of termination in very clearly defined circumstances section 34 of the residential tenancies act provides but the landlord must state in the notice of termination the reason for the tenancy being terminated and that notice will not be valid unless the reason relates to one or more of the following first of all the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations other than the obligation to pay under the tenancy the tenant has failed to comply with the obligation to pay a rent the dwelling is no longer suited to the needs of the occupying household the landlord and tells to sell the dwelling within the next nine months the landlord requires the dwelling for owner family member occupation and vacant position possession is required for substantial refurbishment of the dwelling and or the landlord intends to change the use of the dwelling in addition all notices of termination must be copied to the rtb at the same time as being served on the tenant and will be invalid if not so copied it is worth noting deputy that during q2 2025 the most recent published statistics by the rtb there were 14 740 new 42 new tenancy registrations while 4728 notices of termination were received by the rtb this does not represent a significant increase just less than one percent it is also important to appreciate that not every notice of termination in a tenancy um results in a tenancy um results in a tenancy termination taking effect the most recent statistics through the rtb's profile of register shows that since 20 q2 2023 the number of registered private tenancies and landlords has continually increased year on year the figures remained relatively static from q1 2025 at 240 798 registered private tenancies an increase of 3.2 percent annually and an increase of just 0.08 percent from q1 what the statistics reflect is the constant movement in the rental sector but the overall number of tenancies remain steady the government appreciates and i appreciate that the ending of any tenancy impacts on the lives of both the tenant and the landlord landlords can be reassured that the current tenancy termination rules will continue to apply to an existing tenancy the march changes will not apply and apply and finally last can a detailed communications campaign will be undertaken by the department in conjunction with the rtb between the publication of the bill and the introduction of the new legislative measures from the first of march next year minister first of all thank you very much this late at night and then thank you for being here and i know you'll relay my concerns um uh first of all it isn't fair i believe and many people believe to lock a landlord into a rental uh agreement for six years it failed in scotland and they've gone back to the the old way uh with from what they were before 2016 so i i'm a kind of concerned about your figures because to me anyway a public representative in kerrywood over 20 years i have never seen the like of this including this four 14 house estate in kilani and there's many more of those but i'm getting day after day girls with one child two children and couples then with two and three children and it's every day where will we go and i i'm afraid that this will blow up all together as as the next couple of months go by because uh the the the the the there are also that they'll be clear for the first first of march and um that's that's that's my concern and that's why i brought this in here today and i i i'm afraid that it won't work because i have the history with going back with the 55 houses they're not storing them 55 house along the road from kilmer through kilgarvin to kilani and the reasons are that they won't uh go into these agreements because they're afraid that they won't be able to get their houses back and the other reason is then that it's um they're paying half they will pay half what they get in tax if they have some other income this is going to affect the people with one house two houses three houses they won't they won't they won't bother to go ahead with this as soon as the attendance is in they'll be out whatever they'll do with the houses they won't they won't just shrink them at all and that's that's what i'm getting from them they they'll forget about private renting whatever else they'll do with it so i'm saying that you have to review this because it's not fair the other thing is will the tenant be locked into the six-year agreement because i know tenants want to move around too and they they have to follow their jobs and they can't stay uh traveling we know the cost of traveling we're being taught about uh carbon emissions and all that but look i'm asking to relook at this because i think it's hurting a lot of people uh thank you deputy thank you last can corla look deputy from the response i have here it seems what the government is trying to do is in ensure a fair balance and i think first of all government is focused on growing the supply of much needed rental accommodation first of all by keeping existing landlords in the market but also by attracting new landlords and i do hear what you're saying but you know by doing that we have to ensure strong and balanced tenancy protections for both tenants and landlords if we look at the amendment number two bill that'll be published as soon as possible to allow the new measures to come into effect by the first of march next year the key message from government for a landlord is this if you have an existing tenancy for example a tenancy created on or before the 28th of february 2026 your right to terminate that tenancy will not change on foot of the impending bill in fact if that tenancy ends on or after the first of march 2026 because your tenant leaves or breaches their obligations you may reset the rent to market rent for the new tenant rent controls are being modified to help you keep your rental income in line with inflation and not fall behind market rent but there's also a key message for tenants and the key message for a tenant is that if you create a new tenancy with a new landlord from the first of march 2026 and you do not breach your obligations you will have greater security to remain in situ for a minimum of six years some flexibility will be provided for a smaller landlord to render your tenancy tenancy if the landlord faces hardship or his family needs to occupy the the property